A New Battlefield
by Belikovbabe
Summary: When Hermione has to house Draco, will their hatred stay...or will it fade! And when all they have is each other, who will they turn to? The Wizarding World will face a new challenge. Find out what the Gryffindor and Slytherin will have to. Enjoy!
1. The Unfair Task

"A new battlefield"

The Unfair Task

It had been three months since Voldemort had been destroyed, and Hermione was leaving for work. She Her, Ron, and Harry had already gotten jobs at the ministry. They all did different things, but still got to see each other every once in a while.

As Hermione walked to work from her house down a few blocks, she noticed some witches and wizards still celebrating the destruction of the Dark Lord. She chuckled quietly to herself as she saw some passerby's stop to stare at her. Word quickly spread that she was a huge part of killing Voldemort. She didn't mind, and was glad she had never gotten arrested for breaking into Gringotts, or the other illegal things that they did…

She kept walking despite of the stares. She trudged through the snow on the sidewalk and shivered as a blast of cold air hit her cheeks and blew her frizzy hair back. She knew she could've just apparated, but she often enjoyed the snow. The white flakes on the icy ground reminded her of the many times she had gone to Hogsmeade with Harry and Ron.

The thought of Ron made her smile even bigger. He had just proposed to her four weeks ago, and it seemed to level out some of the sadness that still hung over the world. She glanced down at the engagement ring that gleamed on her finger. It fit so perfectly on her that she never wanted to take it off…not that she would anyway.

Hermione finally got to the steps of the ministry. She stated her name and business to the guard at the door. Even though most of the crimes have been dismissed, most guards still remained. Hogwarts was also heavily guarded too and its reconstruction was in progress.

Finally, the guard let her in with a small smile. She strolled further into the ministry and made her way up to her office on the fourth floor.

"Hey, Hermione!" The sound of shuffling feet and her name being called made her spin around, almost bumping into Harry.

"Oh hello Harry!" She quickly hugged him and then stepped back.

"Are you deaf?" he panted. "I have been running around and yelling your name for the past three minutes!" Harry bent over and put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He clutched his wand…the elder wand and eventually stood upright again.

"Sorry. You know how I go off in my own little world sometimes." Hermione said sheepishly. Harry just nodded like he had experienced that way too many times.

"Anyway, Mr. Ackerley gave me this note to give to you. Said it was important and that you not be late." Harry handed it to Hermione and he appeared to be waiting for something. Then she realized that he was just curious about what it said.

Quickly, she opened the envelope and read it.

_Dear Miss Granger,_

_At 10:00 sharp this morning, please report to the courtroom on the lowest level. There will be a trial held for Mr. Draco Malfoy that we would like you to attend. Please don't be late because the doors will shut at 10o'clock on the hour. We appreciate your concern and time._

_ -Mr. Broderick Ackerley._

_p.s. We have informed your boss that you will be missing work today, and for it not to affect your records._

The words were written sloppily, so it took Hermione a minute to decipher it. Once she did, she read it off to Harry who was a little taken back.

"Malfoy? And what do you have to do with prisoners? You work for magical creatures!" He said.

"I don't know Harry. But I do know that I must hurry up if I want to get there on time. Would you like to come?" Hermione asked. He nodded and then they went to the elevator.

"If anyone should testify against Malfoy, it should be me. I saw him about to kill Dumbledore. Plus, he hates me more than he hates you."

"I'm not so sure I will be testifying against Malfoy. And he probably hates me more than you actually. You are the one who saved him in the Room of Requirement. And at least you're a pureblood." Hermione seemed to hiss the last word like it was a bad taste in her mouth.

When they reached the elevator, Hermione pressed the button which sent them flying through the floors, and jerking their heads back and forth.

"But at least I'm an auror. You should have nothing to be doing with criminals from Azkaban."

"I really don't know Harry! Don't you think if I knew, I would tell you!" Hermione demanded. Harry took a step away from her surprised at her outburst. "Sorry. The mention of Malfoy just puts me on edge." She said. She gritted her teeth as the elevator door opened. They strode down the corridor that was completely empty. No people walked by and no pictures hung on the wall. The hallway was dimly lit and only made Hermione more nervous.

Harry reached the huge double doors leading to the courtroom just before Hermione did. He cracked open one and him and Hermione peeked in. About half of the jury had arrived, but it was only 9:30. The judge was sitting high up at the end of the room and Draco was sitting in a small wooden chair in the very center. The seats were all arranged so that you had to look down at him. Quite effective, Hermione thought. For Draco it must feel like everyone is looking down at you like you are below them and you are worthless. Malfoy needed that feeling, Hermione thought to herself.

At last Harry opened the door fully and stepped inside followed by Hermione. The room was awfully quiet. Harry was pretty sure that you could've heard a pin drop. When they walked further in no one seemed to take notice of them. No one acknowledged them or even looked up. They all had their heads buried in paper work. All except for Draco who spun around as quick as a whip. His scowl deepened tenfold. His eyes shot daggers at Hermione. He seemed a little nicer about Harry's appearance. _Well I guess the hatred for mud-bloods hasn't changed, _Hermione said quietly to herself. No one noticed.

"I'm sorry but this is a closed trial." Finally the judge looked up and stared at the two new comers.

"Your honor, I'm Hermione Granger." She said. The judge's face confirmed recognition and he smiled.

"Oh, yes, Miss Granger. Please take a seat there." Broderick pointed to a seat across from the jury. No one else sat in that section and Hermione felt quite alone as she made her way up. Harry silently tagged along, hoping Mr. Ackerley wouldn't notice…but he did.

"Mr. Potter, I'm sorry to inform you of this, but you do not have permission to be in here for Mr. Malfoy's trial. I'm sure your friend here can tell you all about it once it is finished."

Harry looked down at his watch seeing that there were still 25 more minutes.

"And how does one get permission sir?" Harry asked with a smirk on his face. Hermione rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what he was up to.

"Well you must be asked by me of course. Or if you had scheduled ahead of time you could've also been given a spot in here. Seeing as you have not, and you had not been asked by _me_, you cannot participate." The judge said returning Harry's smirk.

"What if I was an auror who could protect you if made any sudden movements? An auror who was in the same year as and crossed paths with him on a daily basis at Hogwarts? Then could I have permission from _you?_" Harry questioned. The smirk on Broderick's face disappeared quite quickly.

"Yes, you can." He said exasperated. Judges were rarely ever persuaded in the wizarding world.

"Brilliant! I'll just sit here then, and be quiet." Harry's cocky smile grew as he sat down next to his friend.

And quiet he was. In fact, the whole room was silent then. And that was how it stayed for the next 25 minutes. More jury members began piling in, one by one and none of them ever made a sound.

Feeling awkward, Hermione pulled out a quill and finished some assignments due for work the next day. The minutes were dragging by slowly. Hermione kept asking Harry for the time, to give him something to do, and for her just to know how many more minutes of torture she would be receiving.

Suddenly a bell rung so loudly that Hermione jumped from her seat and her papers went flying everywhere. Everyone turned to look at her with blank expressions. Some even glared at her for disturbing the silence, as if they hadn't even noticed the ear piercing bell. Draco was looking up at her chuckling to himself.

When Hermione's heart beat began to slow down from the school-like bell, she gathered her papers.

She looked over to see the double doors shut and locked with 5 locks. They weren't kidding when they said that the doors would shut at exactly 10.

"We are gathered here today on behalf of Mr. Draco Malfoy's future verdict. It has been noted that he has never used the killing curse. _However_, he was a death eater. He had been a follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for a very long time. His father, Lucius Malfoy had also been a follower." The Judge started. His voice made him sound 5 times older than he actually was. It was raspy and he often had to pause to take in a huge breath.

"If Mr. Malfoy is found guilty of being a follower on his _own_ terms and not You-Know-Who's then his charges will be that he will be sent to Azkaban for five years…at the minimum. If proven innocent, then all charges will be erased, and a careful eye will be watching him."

" has a defendant for him, although it appears that she- Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy- is not present, so we will proceed with Jury questions and opinions." The judge continued.

For quite some time questions were shot at Malfoy from different jury members. Hermione and Harry sat alone still not sure why she was asked to come here.

Hermione continued to tap her fingers on her lap. She looked down at her fingernails that were history. She had never really paid attention to her nails and wasn't planning on starting now.

As time went by her and Harry grew more fidgety and Hermione desperately wanted to get up and stretch her muscles. The sound of Harry's name being said snapped her from a trance.

"What was your relationship like with Mr. Harry Potter?" One of the jury members asked. She had short brown hair that barely touched her shoulders. She also had very buck teeth that were worse than Hermione's…and that's saying something. The woman, Hermione soon found out was named Angela Bones.

Draco looked nervous at the question. He knew his true answer would only make him look worse.

"We were acquaintances really. We conversed here and there, but that was about it. He seemed quite friendly though." Much to Hermione's surprise and Draco's, it was Harry who had spoken. Draco was thankful, but the Judge looked at Harry sourly. He had spoken out of term and without persmission. Broderick eventually dismissed his outburst. Then the lady with the brown hair spoke again.

"And Mr. Malfoy, how was your relationship with Hermione Granger over there?" Then whatever self restraint that Draco had left, disappeared.

"We hated each other. She's a filthy mud-blood! And she…she punched me in our third year! You can't really expect us to be two peas in a pod." Draco growled. Hermione glowered at him then she giggled a little remembering when she had punched him full in the face.

"That's what I thought. And Draco, no one ever expected you to get along with Miss Granger. I saw the way you stared at her when she came in. Not very friendly." Angela said.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat. It turns out someone _had_ been watching her when she entered with Harry.

Then Angela continued, "And, Miss Granger, do you agree with him, or is there something you would like to add?"

"No, he's got it down to a t. He thinks I am filthy and I think he's an arrogant ferret." Hermione said. After she spoke they did not ask her anymore questions. They carried on talking with the jury and Draco.

It was another painstaking half an hour before Hermione's attention was directed at the court again. The Judge began,

"…Therefore Draco Malfoy is found guilty of following He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Although, he does not face prison, he will be watched over by Miss Hermione Granger, who will report even the slightest mishap on his behalf. If that is to happen, he will be taken directly to Azkaban without further examination."

"What!" Draco and Hermione both shot up from their chairs and began complaining. Hermione couldn't believe her ears. She had only spoken two harmless sentences and now she is faced to watch over…_him!_

"Silence!" The Judged roared over the two of them. "I apologize Miss Granger, but as it states in the magical law, you are required to perform any task that a Judge, or Minister has assigned you. We will pay you for your efforts and once this is all over, you can go back to living a normal life, with the job you have currently."

"I can't just drop everything to babysit some confused, annoying teenager! And when will all "this" be over? Because people can trick you into thinking they are good when they really want, and then they will just turn on you when they get the opportune moment!" Hermione realized that she was rambling, so she quieted down, still full of anger. She finally brought herself to sit again in her chair.

"Granger, I'm not too thrilled about this either, so just shut it. And, I am NOT confused. I know exactly what is happening." Draco said dryly.

"Hermione, please listen. We will have you watch out for him for 18 months. You can make up your entire schedule as long as he is with you at all times. Plus, he cannot say no to where you wish to take him. Think of him as a child. You have to watch out for him, take him everywhere you go, not let him out of your sight because he might do something ridiculous, and _you_ get to choose things for him."

"I am _not _a child! I've done things that would shock you." Draco said indignantly. Harry wasn't sure if he was saying this mockingly or not.

"I understand sir…but can't you…I don't know…GET SOMEONE ELSE!" She yelled.

"For once I am agreeing with Granger! Something is not right." Draco said.

"I hate to put this burden on you," The judge directed at Hermione but was interrupted by Malfoy.

"Gee thanks!" he rolled silver eyes.

"MALFOY! Shut up will you!"

"I'd actually prefer not to. And you shouldn't be talking Miss Know-It-All."

"Will you two _please_ be quiet! Anyway, Hermione we had to choose you because if he really is Azkaban worthy, then he is most likely to show that in front of you…someone who was umm…raised by two muggle parents.

"But I'm..." Hermione needed an excuse and fast! Desperately she said, "But I'm getting married soon!" It was true as much as it was pathetic.

"I am not giving you the choice Hermione. You _have to do this._ I'm sorry. He really can't be _that_ bad." The Judge said. He spoke more sternly this time.

"You have no idea." Hermione said sourly. Then she sighed. "Fine! I'll do it." Harry looked at her with an apologetic expression.

"Brilliant! Just meet me at my office tomorrow at nine and I will give you all the instructions." Mr. Ackerley said. Hermione stood up with Harry and started to advance towards the door. "And thank you again Miss-soon-to-be-Mrs. Granger." He smiled and waved us out and Hermione returned a cold glare at him then at Draco who was just about to make her life a living hell. 


	2. Fetching the Criminal

Retrieving the Criminal

When the next day came, Hermione reluctantly got up from her bed. She had spent the night at the burrow, ranting to Ron and the rest of his family about her horrendous task. Percy even helped by looking in some books about a way for her to get out of her predicament. Sadly, he had not found anything.

Ron was almost as upset as she was. Their plans of spending more time together were suddenly crushed and their wedding had to be delayed. Hermione and Ron skulked around for the rest of the evening.

Still, Hermione woke from her sleep and slipped on her clothes for the day- a purple blouse and white skirt. Then she stayed extra long in the shower, letting the hot water relax her. In time she hopped out and apparated (for once) to her awaiting doom.

The guard let her in and she made her way across the marble floor. Then she spotted Ron.

"Hi Ron!" She said with enthusiasm. He smiled at her and then gave her a quick kiss.

"How are you today pumpkin?" He asked knowing it would annoy her.

"Ron, you know that I hate when you call me that. Pumpkins are fat and ugly." Hermione said. He gave her another kiss, a little longer this time.

"Alright, but you still haven't answered the initial question." He pointed out. Hermione just sighed.

"Honestly, I'm terrible. Malfoy makes my skin crawl. The thought of living with him is just…is just disgusting."

"Agreed. Bloody hell!" Ron said after looking at the grand clock on the wall, "Don't you have to get the papers _now_?" Hermione looked up and saw she was already late.

"Oh no! I'll see you later Won Won." She left and smirked at him, because he hated that name just as much as she hated Pumpkin. Lavender Brown would always call Ron that in their 6th year.

Hermione scuttled over to the elevator and let it whiz her through the floors.

"Level 1: Department of law enforcement and current Azkaban witches and wizards." A woman's voice sounded indicating the floor on which Hermione needed to go to.

Her brown eyes scanned over the doors, looking for Mr. Ackerley's office. And of course, it was the last door she looked at. It was at the very end of the hall with a huge bronze plate on the thick door. It read:

_Room 103._

_Mr. Broderick Ackerley-_

_Judge_

Hermione raised her hand to knock, when the door suddenly swung open. Her hand was still raised in a fist when Broderick saw her.

"Please, enter." He beckoned her with his index finger, and she obeyed. She took a seat on the chair sitting in front of his desk. She had to blink twice to make sure her vision wasn't playing a trick on her. He was wearing a lilac colored suit which was very different from his Judging garb which was black. Broderick also had on a magenta scarf. Hermione thought he was playing some joke on her, but then she looked around the room. It was the complete opposite of the black hallway outside. Pictures covered every space on his wall. Most were of cats and kittens, and some were of his own family. One picture- which was the biggest on the wall- stood out to her. The picture had a pink frame with white flowers on it. When she actually looked into the picture frame, she saw Dolores Umbridge. She scowled at the sight of her. Umbridge matched the picture frame perfectly. She (as usual) was dressed in all pink and had a huge white flowered necklace.

"Do you recognize her?" Broderick asked. He had noticed her staring at the picture.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I do. She took over Hogwarts in my 5th year. How do you know her?"

"She's my cousin." The happiest smile spread on his face. "She actually designed this room for me before she…before she got arrested…" Hermione knew he was trying to hide it, but tears still formed in his eyes. Hermione knew that Umbridge had been sent to Azkaban for performing dark spells on muggles, but Hermione didn't mention that in front of Ackerley.

Broderick cleared his throat and went on,

"Anyway, here are the papers for your job. I hope you will find them both useful and satisfying."

Hermione grabbed the papers from the man and flipped though them. There were over forty pages of information and data. It consisted of Draco's past, present, future, and things she was allowed to do with him and to him.

"I really must be going now." Broderick said. "If you have any questions, please contact me. Oh and Mr. Malfoy can be found on the fifth floor in the guest jail. Just show the guards your papers, and they will release him." Mr. Ackerley stood up and made his way for the door. Suddenly, he stopped and turned to Hermione. "I almost forgot! Here is his wand." He handed her Draco's wand. "You can find facts on his wand on page 31. And remember, you are welcome to give and take his wand at any time you feel comfortable. And good day to you Miss Granger." He said, turning away at last. He waved to her behind his back, leaving her to stare blankly at all the information.

She scanned through the pages looking for basic and interesting things. They had information on his family tree, his friends, and even his girlfriend. Yes, there was only one girl in their- Pansy Parkinson. The papers said that he really didn't care that much for her, and their relationship only lasted three weeks.

This made Hermione laugh. _Of course there is only one girl in here. What girl would ever want to go out with the conceited git,_ she thought.

After looking through thirty more pages, Hermione stood up and left to go fetch Malfoy.

Again, she entered the elevator and went up four floors. From there she set off to the guest prison. As she was rounding the corner she heard voices.

"I think the Judge is gay. I saw his office and it's…it's not right for a wizard." She heard Draco say. Then someone laughed. Right away she knew it was Harry. What was he doing up here?

Finally she made it to the prison. Draco and Harry were talking from different sides of the bars.

"Granger." Draco said bluntly.

"Malfoy." Hermione sneered.

"Potter." Harry said smiling. Draco and Hermione shot glares at him. "What? Just thought I should add my name into this." His smile faded when no one laughed.

"Anyway, I'm supposed to get Malfoy now. Do you know where any of the guards are Harry?" She asked.

"Yeah, there's one at the end of this hall and to the right." Draco instructed.

"I'm pretty sure I said 'Harry' not 'Draco'." Hermione said harshly. Malfoy just rolled his eyes. Then without further question, Hermione walked to the end of the hall and to the right.

Sure enough a guard stood there with a black uniform and hair to match it. His hair was slicked back and reminded Hermione of Snape with his greasy hair and big nose.

"Hello." Said the guard, raising his wand ever so slightly.

"Hi sir. I am meant to get Draco Malfoy now." She said.

"Permission?" He asked. She shuffled for the page that had Mr. Ackerley's signature and assignment. The guard read over it then said,

"Very well. I'll bring him out." The guard left and just a few moments later returned with Draco.

"Here you are. Beware; he's a piece of work. Don't feel obligated to be kind to him…he doesn't deserve it." The guard sneered.

"Don't worry, I won't let you down." She said. Next, she turned to Draco. "Follow me." She began walking to the elevator, not bothering to look back. In silence they went down.

"I have specific instructions to first take you to my house to let you settle in." She said to him. "I think they dropped your things at my home."

"Don't talk to me mud-blood." Draco demanded.

"First off, that name doesn't affect me anymore. And secondly, I have the right to talk to you, especially since we will be living in the same house for 18 months."

When they reached the right floor Hermione took Draco to the apparation fireplaces. They sucked both of them up and they landed in Hermione's fireplace in her living room. Right away, she noticed suitcases for Draco. She strode over to them and just as she was about to reach for them, Draco pushed her out of the way.

"Don't bother. I don't want filth on my things." He said meanly, and then scowled.

"Fine then. Your room it upstairs. First door on the left." She said. She walked off to the kitchen, leaving him to explore the house on his own terms. But before he did anything, he asked,

"When do I get my wand back?"

"When I feel like it." Said Hermione. "Oh and don't bother trying to escape, because I will know." Then, with one last glare, they both turned away and went to different rooms.

Hermione continued to read the papers after Draco went upstairs. She had thought that this would be easier, but it wasn't going to be. She had to feed him, get him the daily supplies that he needed, and worst of all- keep him company. She already despised him and it was only the first day! Even though they were paying her very well for her time, it wasn't worth it. She had been getting paid fine from her other job.

Sighing, she got up from her dining table and began cooking for the both of them. She made soup and while it was cooking, she went upstairs to tell Malfoy.

She knocked heavily on the door and then just went in. The papers said she could, so…

When she stepped in the first thing she noticed was Draco. He had just taken a shower and his hair was still dripping in his face. He had jeans on but he didn't have a shirt. Hermione jerked back and looked down.

"Uhh, lunch will be ready in five minutes." She said.

"Fine." He said. Hermione looked back up and saw his pale abs then, she shuffled away before he could see her looking at him.

Hermione went back downstairs to finish the soup. She poured it evenly into two cups and set them on the table. Two minutes later Draco came into the kitchen, this time with a shirt on. He sat down at the table and began eating without saying a word. Hermione did the same. She brought the papers to the table to finish reading them. Before she could open the packet, Draco saw the front.

"What is that?" He asked.

"Pretty much your entire life in words." Hermione responded.

"And why do you have it?"

"Well since I am housing you, I should probably know more about you. And since I really have no desire to ask you and find out, I am reading."

"Of course. That is one thing that has never changed about you. You're still that nerdy mud-blood girl who loves research." Draco sneered.

"Oh, and you're the one to talk! You are still that prejudice, annoying boy who loves being mean to people." Hermione argued.

"At least I'm not some bushy haired nutter."

"At least I'm not some pale-as-a-ghost bugger."

"At least I'm not-" Draco was about to say another insult when the door bell rang. Hermione jumped up from her chair and spilled her soup all over her. Quickly she wiped it off and ran off to the door. Draco stayed put and ate his soup. He didn't know how much more restraint he had. He wanted to go right over to her and wring her neck, but he knew that that wouldn't go well with the Ministry. Hermione was giving him his necessities, but at the Malfoy manner, you got more than what you needed. But all in all, Draco knew that this was five times better than being sent to Azkaban.

Suddenly Draco heard laughter and non-stop chatter. It grew louder until Hermione and the guest entered the room. It was Ron.

"Hello Weasley." Draco said coldly. Ron was almost as bad as Hermione was to Draco. Tattered clothing, vacant expression, freckles, and worst of all- association with muggles and muggle-borns.

"Malfoy." Ron acknowledged. "How has he been Hermione?" He asked.

"Horrid. But did you expect any better?" She asked.

"No not really. Well since I have a Death Eater before me, can I ask him some questions?" He asked Hermione. She nodded. Ron sat down, across from Draco.

"Do you know what happened Fenrir Greyback?" Ron said.

"He died didn't he?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, that's what all of the aurors thought. But some say that they've seen him." Ron said. "Are you sure you don't know?"

"Yes, Weaselbee, I am sure. And I am also sure that if it turns out to be a problem, that your stupid friend, Harry Potter will save the day." Malfoy said sarcastically.

"Very funny Malfoy. But don't you find it odd?"

"The only thing I find odd is your face." Draco said.

"Once again, you make me laugh." Sarcasm dripped off every word Ron spoke. "Anyway, what I meant was, don't you find it odd that some people witnessed him dying, but now we have this photograph of him in the woods?" Ron slid a picture over to Malfoy. Hermione leaned over his shoulder to get a closer look at it.

Indeed, it was Fenrir…or rather, someone who looked very much like him. He was walking through the Forbidden Forest and leaving a trail of blood behind.

"It definitely looks like him." Hermione said.

"It does." Draco agreed. "Do you two know why he was even a follower of the Dark Lord?" When Hermione and Ron both shook their heads, Draco went on, "Greyback desperately wanted to bite as many people as possible because he wanted to start a werewolf pack to kill all wizards and witches. The Dark Lord promised him fresh prey for his services. So basically he hates wizards."

"If more people are contaminated or missing by the end of this month, I am going to send aurors after him." Ron said.

"Ron, I know you're an auror, but can you really send people out looking for him?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione, I have more authority than you think." Ron said with a smile. Then, he kissed her full on the lips.

"Oh get a room will you?" Draco exclaimed. They broke apart at the reminder Malfoy was still there. "You people disgust me." Draco left the room leaving his empty bowl of soup on the table.

Hermione and Ron kissed more and then Ron suddenly got an idea.

"You have to make these 18 months a living hell for Malfoy." He said.

"I want to, but I am not allowed to give him physical pain." Hermione explained.

"Well you know how he hates muggles right?" Ron asked.

"Of course I do." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Well tomorrow, take him to as many muggle places as you can think of." Ron smirked and Hermione laughed.

"That's a brilliant idea, Ron! After that kind of 'torture', he might reconsider Azkaban." Hermione said. Then she and Ron laughed more. Hermione began planning her varieties of torture for Malfoy, but for some reason, couldn't stop thinking about the abs that she had seen on Draco, but never on Ron…


	3. Ice skating with the ferret

When the following day rolled around, Hermione was really excited. She skipped down to the kitchen and made breakfast for her and Draco. Then she ran back upstairs to inform him.

Knowing he was still sound asleep and it was very early, she knocked twice as loud as she normally would. Learning from her mistake yesterday, she didn't barge in.

"Get up! Bid day today!" She shouted. It wasn't really that big of a day, but annoying Draco faded away some of her misery with him. Hermione heard slow footsteps and then Draco opened the door.

"Blimey. Could you be anymore bloody loud?" Draco said sleepily. His eyes were half closed and he still had his pajamas on.

"I can actually. Would you like to hear?" Hermione said indignantly. Draco just gave her a fierce stare and walked past her, making sure to hit her with his shoulder. Draco descended down the stairs tiredly. The smell of eggs hit his nose and he went to the kitchen where two plates of eggs sat waiting. He grabbed one and sat down at the table. Hermione followed.

"So what are you doing today?" Draco asked. He almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"_We_ are going ice skating at this rink I would go to when I was little." She smirked. Draco looked up in astonishment. Hermione's deep brown eyes bore into his. It was obvious that she was trying to hide laughter. Her pink lips kept twitching. This was the first time Draco had ever actually made eye contact with her.

"Are you bloody joking! Isn't that a muggle place?" He asked.

"Indeed. Just thought it would be a fun way to start our time together."

"_Fun!_ That's not fun!"

"Oh right. I forgot that your type of fun is hurting harmless non-magical people." Hermione said bluntly.

"And I thought you didn't know me at all." Malfoy smiled, a cold smile making Hermione cringe away.

"Well seeing as I have over forty pages of your life right over there." Hermione pointed to the papers on the counter, "I should know you, shouldn't I?" Draco ignored her and finished his eggs. The rest of the breakfast was eaten in silence. Draco didn't like Hermione knowing his life story. He had thought that information would only be shared with Broderick. Most of the answers he had given him when Broderick questioned him had been private. Some of it he had never told anyone. And then there goes Hermione, easily just picking up some papers and reading them at her own expense. It wasn't fair to Draco.

Finally, breakfast was done and Hermione spoke again.

"Get ready. We will go in a half an hour." She said, and then she skipped away into her study. Draco hadn't realized how happy his pain would make her. He had never seen Hermione ever skip and he found it quite amusing. She kept tripping over her feet.

Draco went to get ready despite his hatred for muggle places. He took a shower and changed into his old green Slytherin sweater.

He looked at himself in the mirror Hermione had given him. His reflection shocked him. He had never seen himself look that dark before. Big dark circles hung under his eyes and his grey/blue eyes were now lifeless. Even his blonde hair seemed to lose its radiance. Draco shrugged this off, but found it odd why he looked so terrible. After all Voldemort wasn't here anymore to scare him every day.

Draco put down the mirror and headed downstairs. There he found Hermione dressed like an Eskimo. He raised an eyebrow at her and tried not to laugh at how ridiculous she looked.

"What? It's cold out." She said.

"Granger, we're not in Antarctica." Draco said. She shook her head at him then grabbed his hand.

"What are you doing?" He exclaimed.

"Uhh, apparating! What do you think I was going to do?" Hermione said. She didn't let Draco answer though. Quickly, she drew out her wand and they disapperated.

When they touched ground, they were in a forest.

"Sorry, I had to apparate us here, because they could've seen." Hermione pointed to some people ice skating just beyond the woods.

They stepped out of the trees and snow fell heavily on their heads. Draco shivered and Hermione gave him a look to say, 'I told you so.' Draco blew warm air onto his hands. Their breath could easily be seen.

Hermione beckoned Draco and they went to the cramped room that held pairs of ice skates.

"Do I really have to ice skate, Granger?" Malfoy asked.

"Well I guess I can't make you. But you do have to stay here."

"Good." Draco said thankfully.

He and Hermione made their way to purchase her ice skates. The man at the register gave them the price, then when he saw Hermione going through her purse to find money, he said,

"I'm not trying to get in other people's business, but shouldn't the boyfriend pay?" Hermione and Draco looked at him, confused.

"You two are dating right?" He asked. Then it clicked and Draco and Hermione started laughing.

"Of course not!" They said simultaneously. The worker apologized and gave Hermione her change.

"You're friends then?" He asked.

"Not even close." Said Draco, and then the two of them walked out. The worker just stared after them with incomprehension.

"Goodness, you muggles are stupid." Draco said to Hermione.

"In case you keep forgetting, _I am a witch_. Just because I have muggle parents doesn't mean I am a muggle too, you know." Hermione demanded.

"Whatever. Your blood is still dirtier than mine."

"Oh right, because a death eater is 'clean'." Hermione said. "Killing people is dirty, Malfoy. Yeah, I know, shocker. So basically we are on the same level of cleanliness." Draco sneered at her.

"We will _never_ be on the same level." He said.

"You're right." Hermione said bluntly. Draco looked at her with confusion lacing his eyebrows.

"I am?" He asked.

"Yes….you will always be lower than me." He continued to stare at her soundlessly. She never met his gaze or even looked back in his direction. Instead she smiled and tied up her ice skates. Finally, just before she was about to go on the ice, she said,

"Oh, yeah. Ron is meeting me here, so tell him I already started when he gets here." Draco nodded and sat on a bench just outside the rink. The freezing air was starting to make his pale skin look blue. He hugged his coat tighter around him and sat longing for his wand back. He wished Hermione knew that he wouldn't use it badly anymore. He just wanted it back for the comfort of having magic. Not having a wand made him feel weak. He sighed and ran his fingers through his blonde-almost-white hair.

When he looked back at the rink he saw Hermione do a small twirl and then fall. She grabbed onto the side wall and got back up. Then she skated on the outer edge of the rink. Eight other people skated on the rink, Draco counted.

"Hey Malfoy." Someone called. He looked over his shoulder to see the ginger.

"Weasley." Draco scoffed. "Your _fiancé_ is already on the ice." Malfoy made sure to use emphasis on fiancé.

"Thanks." He said. Then Ron went off to but some skates and join Hermione without another word.

When Ron finally got on the ice, he was almost as bad as Hermione. Draco couldn't stop snickering at the two of them. They kept falling and helping each other up which caused them to collapse again.

"Are you scared to skate too?" A girl's voice sounded from beside Draco. He turned to the person who had spoken. He didn't see anyone, until he looked down. There was a little girl who stood beside the bench.

"What?" Draco asked surprised. The girl had curly blonde hair and big red cheeks.

"Are you scared to skate?" She asked again, more impatiently this time.

"I heard what you said." Draco said with annoyance.

"Then why didn't you answer me?" She demanded. A grumpy face grew on her.

"Of course I am not afraid to ice skate, little girl." Malfoy said. There was anger in his tone that would've scared people, but didn't seem to faze the girl at all. Her eyes just became slits.

"My name is not 'little girl', my name is Anne. And if you're not scared to ice skate then prove it." By now Anne was really getting on Draco's nerves. He didn't have to prove anything to some seven year muggle.

"Where are your parents, little girl?" He demanded.

"Stop calling me that! I told you my name is Anne. And I think you are scared."

"Am not!"

"Are too!" Anne yelled. Hermione and Ron looked over bemused. When she saw the little girl and Draco fighting she began to laugh. That is so Draco- yelling at some small girl who was completely innocent.

"Sorry sir." Suddenly a woman came over to Draco and took Anne's hand. "She likes to talk to strangers." The woman laughed and pulled Anne away, leaving Draco mad and puzzled.

"What was that about?" Ron came over to Draco hand in hand with Hermione after exiting the rink.

"I really have no idea. She just came up to me and asked me if I was scared to ice skate. Like I said before, muggles are just complete nutters.

"Oh come on Malfoy, she was just a toddler." Hermione giggled at the extremely characteristic Draco. Before Malfoy could comment, Ron said,

"And I think she might be right. Maybe you are scared to ice skate." Ron smirked at Malfoy who just rolled his eyes and turned away from him.

"Come on Ron." Hermione dragged Ron back to the rink.

"Wait honey, I need to ask Malfoy something first." Hermione nodded her head at Ron, and Draco turned back around.

"What?" He demanded.

"Well, you know how I am looking out for increase in werewolves?" Ron said. Draco nodded impatiently. "Well there's been a huge raise, so Harry and I are going to go looking for Fenrir. Are you positive you don't know anything?" Questioned Ron. Draco thought hard for a minute trying to recall anything important. Then something popped into his head.

"Well, I remember Fenrir always mentioning corpruxes?"

"Horcruxes?" Hermione said.

"Oh yeah. That was it. Anyway, I remember one time he asked the Dark Lord how to make one, and the Dark Lord yelled at him and crucioed him.

"Bloody hell!" Ron muttered. Hermione just placed her head in her hands.

"What's so bad about that?" Draco asked very perplexed now. Then Hermione mumbled,

"It means Fenrir Greyback is going to be the new Voldemort…"


	4. Night at the Weasleys

The following morning, Hermione planned a new torture for Malfoy, but the thought of a new Voldemort still lingered in her mind. While Draco slept, Hermione sat and read a book to wait for him. Suddenly there was a knock on her door. Before Hermione could reach the door, the guest already entered.

"Ron! What are you doing here?" Hermione ran over to him and practically leapt in his arms.

"I took off work today. Just thought you could use some help with the ferret." Ron said. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and put his arm around her. "And I know exactly what to do with him too." He led her to the couch and sat down. Ron looked around the house. They were waiting until they got married to move in together.

"Oh really? And what would that be?" Hermione asked. Her hair was up in a bun, but of course some strands of hair still fell out and fell onto Ron's face. He took the strands and placed them behind Hermione's ear.

"Eat dinner at my house." He stated.

"Ron, are you kidding me? Malfoy would hate that…oh!" Hermione exclaimed, once she caught on.

"It's perfect, right? He hates me, poor families, and wizards who like muggles. Going to my house would be like a dream come true." Ron said with sarcasm.

"But your family doesn't really like him…are you sure that they would actually feed him. You never know what Fr-…George will put in his drink." Hermione's face reddened at the slip of almost saying Fred's name. It still broke Ron's heart, as well as her own, whenever Fred was mentioned. Losing him felt like a dementor was flying right over your head- the happiness was gone and only bad memories came to mind.

"George is too busy running the shop to care about poisoning some messed up death eater. And the rest of the family will just have to deal with it. Mum loves when you come over, so I doubt that she would mind if the ferret tagged along."

"Alright, we'll come." Hermione declared. "What should we do in the meantime?" She asked. Ron thought for a moment then a sly smile came on his face. "Oh no. What are you thinking Ron?"

"Well, now that I'm and auror I can probably beat him in a duel…" Once again, Hermione had to think for a minute. Then Ron's words sunk in.

"Ron! You can't do that. You never know what he'll do if he has a wand in his possession." Hermione pointed out. The argument didn't seem to faze Ron.

"Oh, c'mon 'Mione. When I win, he will finally be able to see that he's not so great after all."

"Honestly, Ron I don't think he will ever see that. And plus…what if you…what if you lose?" She said shyly. Making fun of her fiancé was not what she had been intending to do today.

Ron looked at her as if she was the three headed dog from their first year.

"Have a little faith in me, Hermione!" He exclaimed, with mocking hurt.

"I do! It's just that I'm not sure if it's safe to let Malfoy have his wand back."

"Fine. But you can always take it back once we're done." Ron looked down to her and peered in her eyes. They were the prettiest chocolate brown he'd ever seen. Ron silently scolded himself for thinking of food even when looking into Hermione's eyes. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and turned on the tele. Hermione still had to help him figure it out, but he was getting better.

When Hermione heard a door open upstairs, she got up to get breakfast started while Ron sat on the couch. _For someone who grew up under Mrs. Weasley's house, you'd think he would know how to cook,_ thought Hermione.

Today she made pancakes- something that her parents always made. She didn't think Draco would know what they were, but she didn't care. She needed something sweet on this bitter day. Hermione flipped the pancake when she noticed Malfoy stumbling in.

"Granger." He addressed her then sat down at the table. Hermione just nodded and went on cooking.

"Who's here?" Draco asked suddenly as he heard the low hum of the television.

"Ron." She said simply, not wanting to elaborate.

"Ugh. You know even for you Granger, I would have expected someone more…" He searched for the right word.

"Studious?" She guessed. Immediately he shook his head.

"No. More…handsome." Hermione just stared as he looked blankly at the wall. That was both an insult and a compliment and Hermione didn't know how to respond.

"Uhh…thanks? And Ron _is_ handsome. Not everyone is as perfect looking as _you_." She said, making sure to put extra sarcasm on that last part.

"_Not everyone?_" Draco looked insulted. "_No one_ is as good looking as me." Hermione looked over at Draco and felt her heart skip a beat. He was actually very handsome, though she would never admit it. His blonde hair fell loosely in his eyes and his bone structure made him look like a model. When she turned, it was a moment too late.

"You think so too, don't you Granger?" He smirked at her making her feel embarrassed.

"No I do not! I have a husband for Merlin's sake!"

"Fiancé, actually. Lots can happen between engagement and marriage." He pointed out.

"Oh, like you would know. You've only had one girlfriend in your life! And how long did that last exactly? Two weeks was it?" Hermione rolled her eyes and threw a pancake on his plate. He didn't seem to notice.

"How did you know that? Were you stalking me?" His smirk got bigger which made Hermione's frown get bigger.

"No! It's in the papers I was given, you arse!"

"How dare you call me that, you filthy mudblood!" Draco shouted. "And what the bloody hell is this!" He said, finally looking down at the food. "Muggle food? It looks disgusting!" Draco flung the plate off the table and stood up. The ruckus was enough to bring Ron into the room.

"Ron, I think I was wrong about that duel you mentioned." She glared at Draco and threw his wand at him. He easily caught it and gave her and confused look. That moment was the perfect opportunity for Ron to cast a spell at Draco. And he did.

The levicorpus spell hit Draco and sent him flying in the air and 'hanging' from his foot. Instinct took over and he released himself with his wand. Then spell after spell illuminated the room. Colors and sparks made the kitchen look like thousands of fireworks were going off. Hermione realized the duel might get out of hand so she pulled out her own wand. Still though, only minor spells were casted.

"I heard you call Hermione a mudblood!" Ron managed to roar over the noise. "And if I ever hear that again I'll-" But Hermione and Draco never got the chance to hear what Ron would do because Draco started to shout, "Mudblood! Mudblood! Mudblood!" over and over to Hermione. She took no offense to it, knowing that it was just Draco's nature, but Ron on the other hand couldn't handle it.

Ron dropped his wand and ran at Malfoy. He pumbled him to the ground and hit Draco many times before Draco even got the chance to raise his fist. Of course, Hermione jumped into action by making the two men fly back from each other. They both landed with a thud on opposite sides of the room. Hermione took one glance at Draco and her heart swelled…just like his eye.

Motherly instinct took of her for some reason she could not fathom. She turned on Ron.  
"How dare you beat him up like that! Are you mental? You could've killed him!" That last statement wasn't exactly true, but it was enough to get a reaction from Ron.

"You think _I'm mental?_ He was insulting you Hermione! You should be grateful I protected you."

"Protected? I don't need protection, Ronald Weasley. And if you really think I care if he calls me a mudblood then you are wrong." With that, Hermione whipped back around to Draco and sat down next to him. Then to her surprise, she wiped off some of the blood from his nose. Draco was too close to unconscious to notice what was going on. He just kept groaning and let his body fall against Hermione.

Ron walked over to them. He was clearly still mad. Eventually he brought himself to apologize.

"I'm sorry Hermione…I just…I just don't like seeing you hurt." Ron sighed. "If you still want to come over tonight for dinner, you are welcome to. Just, don't tell Draco I am sorry." He murmured. Hermione nodded and smiled at Ron. Then, with a quick glance at his watch, Ron left the house.

After that, Draco kept falling in and out of conscience. Hermione used a spell to send him up to his bed, where she followed. When she stepped into the room, she gasped. It had been completely transformed since she saw it before he came. Even without magic, Draco had managed to take down the picture frames and hang up new ones. A big Slytherin banner hung over his bed and spell books were strung all over the bedroom's floor. Clothes also sat carelessly on the floor. Green boxers caught Hermione's eye and made her laugh to herself. Draco really didn't seem to own anything that wasn't green or black.

Gently, Hermione sat Draco on the bed. She sat beside him on the bed's edge. She guessed that he wouldn't wake up anytime soon, so it didn't matter. She brushed his hair off his face and cleaned the blood from his nose and cheek. It looked pretty bad, but nothing Hermione couldn't fix. She healed the black eye and crooked nose in an instant. She knew the pain was still there underneath but Draco could handle that. Hermione then looked down to the last spot that needed curing. Ron had apparently ripped off some skin on Malfoy's chest. It reminded her of something that would happen in a cat fight. Hesitantly, she took off Draco's shirt since it was stained red. This movement woke up Draco.

"Granger, I know you think I am good looking, but you could've asked to see my body instead of ripping off my shirt." Draco smirked and then grimaced from the pain. Hermione chuckled at that. He deserved the karma.

"I'm not interested in your body." Hermione scoffed. "I was just healing this God awful scar on you."

At that Draco looked down and saw drops of blood running from the gash.

"I am going to kill him." He stated bluntly.

"Good luck with that." Hermione glared. "I already took you wand back." At that, Hermione received a rueful look.

"I'll do things to you that will make you wish you had never done that." Draco and Hermione's eyes widened at that statement. Draco hadn't meant anything by it, but that's what it sounded like. He quickly switched the topic.

"So what else did Weasley do to me?"

"Black eye, bloody nose and lip, and nasty scar on your chest." She stated. "But I've healed them all, so you look new again." She glanced back down at the scar and looked away quickly. Suddenly she stood up and left the room without another glance.

Draco sat in his bed for a while, just staring at the ceiling. He couldn't believe that Hermione took the pain away even though he made her life a living hell. He thought maybe he could try to be nicer to her. That thought instantly disappeared. Hermione was below him. She had dirty blood. Draco continued to think of the dilemma and realized that blood didn't really matter. Hermione was as good as a wizard as he was…

Trying to clear his head, Draco finally stood up and put on a new shirt. As Hermione had said, the scar was completely gone, leaving behind a thin white line that would soon go away. Draco splashed water on his face and trudged downstairs. He went straight to the living room, guessing Hermione would be there. He guessed right.

She sat on the couch looking at the tele. Only, it wasn't on…

"Hey." Draco said to her. Then Hermione screamed and jumped straight from the brown couch. Draco gave her a puzzling look.

"Oh, it's you. Sometimes I get in my own little world. Don't realize it until something else catches my attention." She said embarrassed. Draco looked down and saw that Hermione had her shoes on as well as a jacket. Her purse hung halfway off the couch.

"Going somewhere?" Malfoy asked, ignoring Hermione's last comment. Her eyes followed his gaze and saw her purse.

"Oh yeah. We're going to the Weasley's."

"What? After he just beat me up? You must be mental."

"Maybe I am, but if _you_ don't want to become mental in Azkaban, I would suggest you get ready." Hermione pointed out. Draco glared at her then turned away to get his shoes. Two minutes later, they were out the door. They stepped out onto the porch where snow had blown. The sky was grey and the sun was hidden behind a cloud. The wind blew harshly on their bare faces. Draco couldn't help but think that Hermione looked cute with rosy cheeks.

"Arm." Hermione said abruptly. Draco brought his arm up and she grabbed it. Suddenly they were swirling through the air, giving them both a sickening feeling. Then just as quickly as they left, they arrived on the Weasley's lawn.

Draco sneered at the poor, small looking house. It was so much different from the house he had grown up in. His house had many stories and a sleek look. His house was black and had an iron fence around it. The lawn was always perfectly trimmed, thanks to their house elves. But the Weasley's burrow was very unusual. The house's front yard had a pond that had frozen over, and it had yellowing grass, from what could be seen underneath the snow. Garden gnomes surrounded the perimeter of the building. And as Draco entered the house he could sense just how poor the Weasley's really were.

Inside was a whole different story from his house too. The smell was magnificent. Baking bread, and a roaring fireplace. The sound was also astounding. Everyone was talking all at once. Laughing, crackling fire, beeping of ovens, and even George's new inventions sounded all throughout the house. Draco's house had been extremely quiet, like everyone was a mime. No one joked, no fire was ablaze, and if someone did talk, it would be below a whisper. Draco's attention was finally changed when Hermione called for him.

"Draco! Are you alive in there?" She snapped in his face, waking him up from his own thoughts. This house made him long for a different childhood.

"Yeah. Sorry." He shook his head and took more steps into the house.

"Hermione! You're here!" Molly exclaimed. She ran over with her apron and threw her arms around Hermione. "I'm glad you could make it dear." Then Mrs. Weasley noticed Draco standing beside Hermione. "You to Draco." She patted him on the back and beckoned them to the dining table. Draco walked in shock. _She called him Draco._ Even the pat surprised him. It was so motherly and caring, even when she knew how cruel he was. _He used to be a Death eater for God's sake!_

Draco sat down, while Hermione ran around hugging each person. She kissed Ron, and gave Harry a huge hug. Hermione and Ginny gossiped and George stuck a _kick me_ sign on Hermione's back when they hugged.

Finally, Molly spoke up.

"Alright, dinner is ready!" She called over the noise. Everyone obediently went over to the table and sat down. They all gave weary looks to Draco. Nothing new. Ron straight up glared at Draco.

They all piled their plates with food and even Draco put on more than he usually would at a poor house. His father would be disappointed but well…it _was_ good. Conversation started, making the room less awkward. Sadly though, the conversation was directed at Draco.

"So Malfoy, tell me, how is it being a death eater." George asked.

"Well first off, I'm not a death eater anymore." Draco spoke indignantly.

"Okay. Then how _was_ it being a death eater." Beside Draco, Hermione shifted uncomfortably.

"Stressful." Draco stated. Everyone looked at him expecting more. "I didn't really have a choice. My dad was a death eater…hell, practically my whole family was. So, naturally, I got stuck with the position." The Weasley family all gave him a questioning look, like they didn't believe it. "I know I am cruel, but I hadn't wanted _that._ Any one of those days, Voldemort could've easily just held up his wand and killed me without hesitation. If I had had a choice, I wouldn't have joined. But I didn't have a choice. So much pressure was on me. If I didn't deliver, I would have died." He was rambling, and he looked down at his lap. Still no one talked. Slowly, hesitantly, he brought his head back up. "Anyway, I don't think you all want to hear about some mean child and his deprived childhood. Let's move onto something more cheerful." Draco said.

Everyone glanced at each other, unsure of what to say. Then Harry spoke up.

"Well, actually before we umm, move onto something fun, I have something to say." Harry looked over to Ron, who nodded. It seemed like he was silently asking for permission.

"Ron and I are leaving for a while. We have to uhh, go on a little hunt." Harry said. The Weasley's and Hermione all looked alarmed.

"What for?" Hermione asked. She was biting her lip.

"We are going to be killing off Fenrir's horcruxes and then we plan to kill him." Ron said. Hermione's eyes teared up and so did Molly's. Draco's fists clenched for reasons he didn't know of yet.

"How long will you be gone?" Ginny asked.

"We don't know exactly. Maybe like four months." Hermione's ears perked up and she stared at Ron.

"But Ron…we…we're getting married soon." Tears brimmed her eyes.

"I know, but we need to stop him before it's too late. As much as I don't like saying this, our wedding can wait. Saving the world is a little more important." Ron's words crushed Hermione's heart. She knew it was true, but she still saddened.

"When are you leaving?" Whispered Hermione.

"Uhh…tomorrow." Harry said. "That's why we wanted everyone over tonight."

"What? Tomorrow? But…" Hermione's words trailed off. Ron stood up and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her there. Draco noticed Ginny and Harry looking at each other. Even the blind Draco saw something between them.

After the tears and the food were gone everyone gathered around the fireplace. Hermione sat on Ron's lap and they quietly talked about the adventure. The laughter was less cheerful and the smiles were more fake.

Even with the change in spirit, Draco still thought it was more happy then a house he had ever been in. Excusing himself from the room, he went to the bathroom and did something he hadn't done in years. He cried.

He cried over his lost childhood, his false friends, his neglecting parents, and most of all he cried over not having a family with happiness. And for the first time ever in Draco's life, he wished he could be Ron…for too many reasons. Reasons that didn't even make sense to him.


	5. Practice Makes Perfect

**Sorry it took so long for this chapter. I've been busy! Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Practice Makes Perfect

After a couple more hours at the Weasley's, Hermione decided to bring Draco home. They both slept soundlessly, with full stomachs. Hermione had fallen asleep on the couch with the silence in the house as an odd change. Hermione missed the noise of the burrow and company it brought.

The next morning came, with a lot of light streaming through Draco's window. It woke him up earlier than he usually did and he grudgingly sat up in his bed. The snow on the ground was melting at an alarming rate and the sun was shining intensely.

Draco walked to his dresser and got dressed and headed for the stairs. He staggered down from lingering exhaustion. When he reached the living room he saw Hermione half way off the couch. The blinds were closed shut so the light wasn't as extreme as it was in his room. Draco smiled to himself as he saw what a mess she was. Her hair reminded him of a lion and her eyes reminded him of a raccoon. Hermione's mascara was smudged making it look like she had two black eyes. Other than that though, she was beautiful. Her skin was flawless and her wand hung loosely in her hand, like she was ready for an attack. Draco flinched. Did she think he would attack her? He closed his eyes and shook his head. He would never do that, even to a mudblood. He used to. He used to attack muggles and mudbloods and now looking back, he wished he had never done that. It was degrading. Attacking defenseless humans? Terrible.

Draco bent down in front of her and lowered his face to hers. He could feel her softly breathing on his skin, but she didn't budge. Draco placed another blanket on her after seeing goose bumps on her arms. She clung to the blanket and rolled over on the couch. Draco then left her and went to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water and sat down at the table. There were papers sitting in the middle with a coffee cup on top of them. He tugged them toward him and read. Immediately he knew what it was. They were the papers that Hermione had gotten about his life. He flipped through them and looked at random pieces of data.

_Hogwarts house- Slytherin_

_Siblings- none_

_Legal guardians- Mother: Narcissa Malfoy. Father:__Lucius__ Malfoy_

_Date of birth- June 5, 1980_

_Went to the Yule Ball with- Pansy Parkinson_

_Wand- 10" hawthorn wood with a unicorn hair core and received it in 1991 by Mr. Ollivander. Later he was in possession of the Elder wand but was unaware of this. Then Harry Potter had defeated him and took possession of the wand._

Draco just stared at the papers in shock. He read the wand section three more times before setting down the papers in astonishment. _The elder wand had belonged to him…and he hadn't known it._

Draco's anger spiked. If he had known that the wand was his, he could've done great things before Harry had defeated him. And when exactly did Draco become the master?

"Dumbledore." Draco whispered to himself, to answer his question. _I must've gotten it when I disarmed Dumbledore. _Draco couldn't think of another time he shot a spell a Dumbledore other then on the Astronomy tower.

"But when had Harry defeated me?" He asked himself.

"When he saved you in the Room of Requirement." Hermione's voice came out of nowhere making Draco jump from his chair. "And you are not supposed to be reading this." Hermione came over and took the papers from the table.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asked her.

"Not long. How long have you been reading these?" She questioned back.

"Not long." He answered. Hermione rolled her eyes and sat down across from him. She stared at him for a long while and finally said,

"Why couldn't you kill Dumbledore?" Draco blinked and then looked down at his hands.

"He…he was too…he was too pure. He never deserved to die." Hermione stared at him again. She was- to say the least- surprised.

"But you tried to kill him before the Astronomy Tower. You used the bottle and the locket, and you didn't want to kill him?" Hermione asked.

"Well I guess I did. I just couldn't kill him face to face. And I was hoping that they wouldn't work…and they didn't…"

"You were just scared weren't you? You wanted to prove yourself to your fellow death eaters and that's why you didn't take up Snape's offer. But at the same time, you never wanted to harm Dumbledore and that's why you couldn't kill him in the end. That's why your attempts were so weak." Draco listened to Hermione and realized how much she knew about him.

"Wait, how did you know about Snape?"

"Harry overheard you two talking. He told me, but I never believed him. I never believed you would stoop that low."

"Granger, you have no idea." Draco placed his head in his hands recalling those times. He regretted every moment of it and had never told anyone this.

"I do though. I don't know how bad they were to you, but I know that they were bad enough that you felt like you would die if you did something wrong. You shouldn't have gone through that, especially when you were only in your sixth year."

"People don't sympathize for me like that. They just glare at me and remember that I did bad things. They never think that I could've been pressured into it." Draco said. He banged his fist on the table to shake memories away. Hermione flinched at his anger and then moved over a chair, closer to him. She placed his hand on his and drew circles on his palm with her thumb.

"I thought that. I thought that a lot. I knew there was nothing you could do, but take Dumbledore's place and die yourself, but that wouldn't matter. Dumbledore would've died soon anyway if not by your hands. One person dying is better than two. I would've told other people that, like Harry and Ron…but they…they wouldn't get it. They hate you too much. I don't hate you. I don't like you…but I don't hate you." Hermione let go of his hand and scooted back to her old spot. Draco traced his finger along a crack in the table repeatedly. He couldn't help but smile. She understood him and didn't hate him. It was a start. The two of them looked at each other. She smiled the smallest smile at him, but he caught it. His eyes were always cold, but he was hoping, that just this once they wouldn't be. Then the doorbell rang.

Hermione let out a small scream. The sudden loudness in the room had shocked her. She left the kitchen and went to the door. She opened it and two boys came charging in.

"Ron?" Hermione shouted. "Harry?" They both laughed at her puzzled expression. Hermione had to know everything. "I thought you were leaving today."

"Change of plans. We were packed when we realized who we were fighting. Fenrir will most likely have other dark wizards on his side, so we figured we needed help from well…a dark wizard." Harry said. Draco strode into the room only to hear the last part of what Harry said. They all looked at him as he came in and his brows came together.

"You don't mean me do you?" Draco asked. Harry and Ron nodded. Ron looked displeased. "So what, you want me to teach you dark magic?" They nodded again. Draco pursed his lips and looked at Hermione. "And what does the lady think?" He asked. This would only work if she gave him his wand.

"I don't know. It sounds kind of dangerous…" She bit her lip.

"Oh don't worry; we won't hurt 'im." Harry said, drawing his wand from his back pocket.

"But he might hurt you." Hermione said bluntly. Draco smirked. Ron walked toward Hermione and gave her a peck on the cheek and said,

"Come on 'Mione. This could save our lives." Hermione sighed and went upstairs.

"What do you suppose she's doing?" Harry asked.

"Dunno. You think she's mad at us?" Ron asked.

"Maybe she's crying since you just said 'this could save our lives.' She might've just remembered that this 'trip' of yours could kill you." Draco thought he had a good theory going on, before Hermione came waltzing back in the room with no tears on her face. She turned to Draco and stuck out her hand. In it was his wand. He raised his eyebrow at her, and then took the wand cautiously. Then she inclined her head toward the back door. When they reached the door and opened it they saw that she had extended the yard with magic and built high walls around it.

"Wow. Maybe you should just teach them magic." Draco said as he looked around.

"Or maybe you just should've paid attention in class." Hermione snapped back. Then they walked from the threshold and onto the grass.

"Alright Professor Malfoy, show us what you got." Harry said as he took a dueling stance 30 feet away from Draco. Hermione sat on the edge of the yard with her back against the wall as she watched the three men duel and listen to different spells. She herself listened to Draco as he told them dark spells and enchantments. She was intrigued and glad that she was gaining new knowledge, even if it was bad and useless to her. Draco taught them also how to counteract bad spells, which was the only thing useful.

Between pieces of advice and spells, the three of them would duel. Hermione was fascinated by the streams and sparks of light. Draco listed spells like fiendfyre, inferius reanimation, and antonin. He also named potions like the rudimentary body potion and the drink of despair.

After these names Draco showed what the spells could do and then they were off with dueling again. It took five minutes before Draco had both of them defeated. Frustrated with themselves, Ron and Harry stood up.

"When you are fighting Fenrir and the others, good magic will not win. It's too simple. You must use the spells I'm teaching you now. Snape once said, '_The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible._' This means that only using dark magic will make you more powerful."

"That's not true." Hermione said. She stayed seated and looked up at him with a blank expression.

"Oh really Granger? Than how am I beating them each time?"

"First off Harry killed Voldemort and Voldemort was definitely bad, and secondly, you can beat them…but can you beat me?" Hermione finally stood up, as tall as she could. She strode up to him and stood in front of him, staring up. She had gotten so close that their chests were almost touching. She was sending a vibe to challenge him and it was working.

"Of course I can beat you." He said abruptly. Then Hermione strode past him, after bumping her shoulder against his. He looked at the other two and they just shrugged and stared after her. Draco finally turned around to face her.

"Okay." Harry announced. "1." Hermione got in fighting stance. "2." Draco bent down to her level and raised his wand. "3!" Spells flew, back and forth. Some were said aloud, and some were silent. For a while, no spells hit either of them. It was only three minutes later when something happen.

Hermione flew back with force and hit the ground hard. She coughed harsh coughs then suddenly, went a deathly silent. Her eyes were wide open and stared straight up at the sky. Her body was lifeless and still. Alarm shot through the boys and they sprinted to Hermione. They bent down to her and tears welled up in Harry and Ron's eyes. Her chest was still rising and falling, but other than that, she was unresponsive. Draco looked into her eyes and placed his hand on her cheek. He dropped his wand beside him and ran his hand through his hair and-

BAM! Draco flew back further than Hermione had. Hermione shot up and grabbed Draco's wand and stood triumphantly. Draco sat up after the stars danced away from his vision. He looked up at Hermione to see a huge smirk on her face. Harry and Ron looked at her just the same as Draco did. They were astonished and confused.

"I won." She said.

"Huh?" Draco asked.

"I said, '_I won!_'" Hermione repeated.

"But that's cheating." Draco reasoned. He couldn't believe he had just lost! He felt like he had just lost all his pride. They would never stop talking about this.

"No its not."

"But the point was that you weren't supposed to do anything dark. Acting like you are dying is dark stuff." Draco said. Then they all started laughing. Even Draco laughed a little.

"Maybe you should've been in Slytherin." Harry said.

"Cunning and sly. We have a true Slytherin here folks." Ron shouted over the laughter.

A couple minutes later, the laughter died out and Harry reminded them that they needed to get back to work. Reluctantly, they all got up and the dueling started again- this time, without any fake deaths.

The day drug on and finally turned into night. The black sky had twinkling stars swirled into it, giving a faint glow on the backyard. Hermione called it a day and noticed a wonderful improvement in their fighting. After a long days worth of practicing, they were perfect, which meant, that they were ready.


	6. Intruders

**sorry this cahpter is kinda short. enjoy! and review! I love to know your thoughts :)**

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Intruders

Draco never really had real parents. Yeah, they always fed him, clothed him, and biologically Lucius and Narcissa were his parents. But they both never spent much time on him. Little love was shown from his father; and his mother would just buy his love with money. He always felt lonely, but today he felt worse than lonely. He felt abandoned. His parents weren't even here anymore and Hermione (his only company) was far from family.

Harry and Ron had left two days ago after training. Draco had barely greeted Hermione since. He didn't want to think of the morning two days ago when she had been sleeping. Seeing her or talking to her would bring those memories back into his thoughts.

It was the afternoon and Draco went outside to sit on the porch. He sat down on the porch swing. He didn't move back and forth, he only watched the people walk up and down the street. He knew he couldn't step out of the boundary line, or else he would be put back in Azkaban, but it was so tempting. There were so many people out, in their own little worlds. Some people stopped and stared when they saw him, however, they kept walking soon enough.

Draco crossed over to the very edge of the yard. The wet snow soaked in his shoes but he didn't seem to notice. Draco peered out further into the world seeing life and happiness all over. He wished he had that. The war was over so he wasn't scared…but he still wasn't happy.

Draco decided to go back in when people stared at him angrily. He wouldn't have any way to defend himself if they attacked him, so he thought it would be best if he left. His long stride allowed him to disappear into the house hastily.

When he got inside and shut the door behind him- blowing cold air into the hallway- he heard a thud. Draco listened more carefully and heard Hermione talking to herself with an angry voice. Filled with curiosity he went to see what the ruckus was. He entered the library- where she always seemed to be. He saw a book laid open in front of the far wall. His eyes scanned the room and spotted Hermione sitting on her chair with the Daily Prophet almost touching her face. She had thrown the book.

"Blimey! These bloody idiots!" Hermione whispered angrily.

"Goodness Granger! Who's got your wand in a knot?" Draco asked. Hermione jumped from her seat.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know you were here. And who has got my wand in a knot? You and your thick friends are who!" She yelled. What had Draco just walked into? Hermione stomped over to him and threw the Prophet at him. He held it and looked at Hermione in confusion.

"Well read it you tosser!" Hermione shouted. Draco was taken aback at her sudden outburst but read it anyway. The title of the article had already caught his attention. **MASSIVE OUTBREAK FROM AZKABAN. **Draco looked under the title only to see his father, Igor Karkaroff, and many other death eaters disapparating from the destroyed remains of Azkaban. He already knew this was bad news, however, he read the article anyway.

_Today, a serious outbreak of Azkaban prisoners escaped. Many fled to unknown places and into hiding. Twelve escapies disapparated from the prision with extreme speed. Investigators are still trying to uncover how they accomplished this. The investigators presume that an outside source exploded the tower after warning the criminals. So far, no other assumption has been made. As for the convicts, only five have been recaptured. Seven remain free, dangerous, and on the loose. Aurors are trying to find their current location, but no luck has come. Famous aurors- Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley are currently taking time off for another task of theirs. This means that the people who escaped most likely won't be caught as fast. Please be careful and watchful of these criminals. Major awards will be given for witches and wizards who capture them and/or report sightings of them to the Department of Magical Law and Reinforcements. The following list will show you the criminal's name and picture._

_-Wishing you the utmost safety,_

_Rita Skeeter…_

Draco didn't bother looking at the criminals. He already knew all of them. He set the Prophet on the side table before reading over it once more. He looked up at Hermione with a smug look on his face.

"I don't know how you all did that-" Hermione started. Draco was full of anger though and he had to let it out.

"HERMIONE! I am NOT part of them anymore! Stop saying 'you' and start saying 'they.' I don't care that my father was in that group! I will not join him. I am not a death eater anymore. I am barely a criminal."

"Then why are you here right now? It's not like you're my boyfriend! You're my work. You are an inmate that I was told by a judge that I had to watch over. I don't want to do this, but I have to. If you don't want to become a true criminal then I suggest you stop yelling at me!" Draco didn't listen to her empty threat. He took five steps closer to her so they were a foot away.

"In my life I have never met anyone as stubborn and annoying as you! You don't want to do this? Well I don't either Granger, but I'm not going to let you anger me so much that I'd rather be in prison. I really hate mudbloods but at least their two times better than Azkaban." Draco was yelling at the top of his lungs by now but Hermione didn't look the least bit alarmed. This got on his nerves. At Hogwarts, his classmates would cower when he shouted.

"There has to be some point of me angering you that would make you rather want to go to Azkaban. Trust me Malfoy, I have many ways. Let's see if this one works…" Hermione knew this was against her rules to anger Malfoy so much but she had to. In a fit of rage she kneed him right in between the legs making his pale white face go red.

"Bloody hell!" She whispered to herself. His pain was obvious. She had kneed him as hard as she could, and at a very sensitive area. She instantly felt sorry for what she did and ran out the room before she could see his hurt face. Although, she did catch him bent over with his hands on his knees trying to breathe slowly. She was at the top of the stairs already, still not believing what she did.

"You'll pay for that Granger! And if you are wondering- no! I am still not angry enough!" He called out through gritted teeth. By now Hermione was in her room giggling and sorry at the same time. She had to admit that his face was priceless…but she shouldn't have done that. Whoops! She knew Draco was mad…really mad, but like he said, she was better than going to Azkaban.

Hermione gave it two hours for everything to cool off. Mean while, she sat in her room, still consumed by the Prophet. She read some other things, like _Wizardry Through the Ages_ and _Potions For Professionals. _Two hours went by fast though, and she soon found herself in the kitchen making them a late dinner. Just like she thought, he came in at the smell of the meal. He sat down without looking at her and began eating in silence. She sat at the far end of the table and spoke first.

"Sorry about the uhh…the kick. Just trying to make you angry. I shouldn't have done it though. Sorry." Draco finally glanced up at her probably perplexed that she actually apologized. To her dismay, he smiled. It still wasn't warm exactly, but for some reason, it did make her heart flutter.

"No you shouldn't have." He said. "Luckily for me, it didn't hurt as much as the time you punched me in our third year." Hermione had to agree. Her punch was out of pure hatred for Malfoy. The kick was just from anger. Naturally, she was softer on the kick.

Hermione giggled at the memory then said,

"No offense, but that was hilarious! You were scared even before I punched you. It was pathetic" Hermione laughed again then repeated, "No offense."

"Just saying 'no offense' doesn't actually take away the insult you gave me. You know that, right?" Draco asked. The smile still played softly on his lips.

"Yeah, I do. Oh well. I'm not apologizing for what is true." Hermione said, with a teeth bearing smile.

"Cruel and sly. You should've been in Slytherin." He said.

"You are delusional." Hermione responded. They glanced at each other. Their eyes met. Brown and grey…or whatever color Draco's eyes were. They were mysterious just like him. And Hermione's eyes were soft and warm, just like her.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a loud banging sound. Something had fallen. Then there were feet. Fast and growing louder.

"Find him! Find him and bring him to me! If we get the boy, Lucius will join!" The voice was not trying to be quiet. Hermione and Draco had already gotten up. She took his hand and pulled him out of the back door, which conveniently was in the kitchen. She closed it softly, even thought she was pretty sure they could hear her heart thumping. Fear took over and she couldn't think. This wasn't like her! She was always a quick thinker.

"Give me my wand." Draco demanded quietly.

"What?" Hermione was scared and it took too long for her to comprehend things in these situations.

"Give me my wand!" Draco repeated frustrated. Then, Hermione understood. She didn't know if he would use it for good, but she didn't have time to find out. She knew the intruders were death eaters and he could help her. Rapidly, she pulled his wand from her boot and handed it over. Automatically he pointed it up at the door in case they were to come out.

"Lets apparate!" Hermione said loudly. She grabbed her own wand, but just as she was reaching for it a spell almost hit her.

Draco stood in the way of the spell and had reflected it. He had saved her! Hermione didn't have time for surprise. She jumped in the fight. The death eaters name was unknown to her, but she had seen him before. He was one of the Azkaban escapees. Her and Draco went back and forth sending spells at him and reflecting them as well.

"Your father wouldn't be proud to see you helping filth." The death eater said.

"But I'm not helping you." Draco said. The joke caused Draco to laugh and the death eater to sneer.

"You are putting all your fathers work to waste. Is that what you want." The man said. Spells still shot left and right, but he managed to speak.

"My father's work was already waste. I don't think I could make it worse." Another comment against his father. What had the world come to when Draco began dissing his dad?

Then another person came from the door…then another…then another. There were four death eaters all together. One in which was Fenrir Greyback. Fear spiked in Hermione and Draco. It was two against four, and one of the four were practically immortal.

"Bloody hell!" Draco whispered to himself. He couldn't fight them off. He knew it. He lowered his wand a little, and they noticed right away. Hermione on the other hand just stopped and stared. Confusion washed over her like a tidal wave.

"Ahh, finally! The great Malfoy has surrendered. Good choice." Fenrir said. Hermione saw that he was already becoming just like Voldemort. His eyes were so cold; she could not even look in them. His nose was even becoming more snakelike. As for his ears- they were almost just two holes on the sides of his head.

"You can take me to my father. But you leave her here." Draco said, nodding his head at Hermione. All the death eaters laughed. A laugh that was horrifying.

"The mudblood? You're bloody joking!" Fenrir called out. He ran up to Draco and his hand striked out across his face.

"Don't touch him!" Hermione shouted. Draco didn't seem to change. Fenrir glanced over to Hermione with one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"If not for the fact this mudblood was engaged to a freak, I would've thought you two were in love. Still…it's possible. Lucius won't be very happy to hear this." Fenrir tsked Draco. Hermione didn't know how to respond. First off, how did he know she was even engaged? And secondly, why would he ever guess they were in love. They were definitely far from that…but they were nicer to each other at the least.

"If you haven't noticed, I don't care what my father thinks of me anymore!" Draco didn't dwell on the 'in love part.' He knew Fenrir wanted something from him, and he wanted to cut to the chase. "What do you want from me?" Draco sneered. There was a complete shift of his posture from five minutes ago. He was once again, that cold hearted boy that seemed to see only death and hatred in the world.

"Well here's the thing Draco." Fenrir started. "Your daddy would make a very nice addition to my group. Only, he has no reason to be part of it. He says he wouldn't benefit. However, I know a way to make him join. And what's better than his little boy? So we're just going to take you and your mudblood girlfriend to my house. There we will torture you…I mean the mudblood. We'll fake your pain. Then Lucius will come running and join me to get you back."

"That is the sickest, most disturbing plan I've ever heard!" Hermione yelled. She wanted to apparate right then and there, but she knew they would kill Draco and her when they were in the air. That's what happened to Dobby when Bellatrix's knife had hit him.

"For you maybe. But we don't really care what you think." Another death eater spoke. It was a woman. One with such a low voice, she could almost pass for a man.

"No, she's right." Draco said from beside her. "For me and for her. You can't pretend to hurt someone's child! It's inhumane. Plus, I think my father is too selfish to even do the trade." Fenrir ignored that last part and went on.

"Fine then." Fenrir said. "We won't pretend to hurt you." The tiniest sliver of hope wound its way around Draco and Hermione. "We _will _hurt you." The hope vanished.

Suddenly Fenrir's voice rang out. It wasn't loud or the least bit cheerful. It sent chills through Hermione. Fenrir said- with extreme simplicity,

"Get them."

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CLIFFHANGER! my favorite ending to write...my least favorite ending to read. whoops ;D


	7. Tortured

Hermione and Draco struggled against invisible shackles. They sat back to back in a small room which was currently unoccupied. They could hear whispered murmurs out in the hallway, but neither could make out what they were saying. Draco was scared what his dad would say to him, and more what he would do. Draco knew he needed a plan, and fast. Fenrir had taken their wands, so there weren't many options. Hermione, almost as if reading his thoughts said,

"What are we going to do?"

"I dunno. Do you have any ideas? Out of all the times you and your friends escaped trouble in school, you mustve learned something. I thought you were supposed to be really smart." Draco replied dryly. There was a long pause before Hermione said anything more.

"I guess we are not going to talk about when you saved me?" Hermione said. Draco rolled his eyes, knowing this would come.

"I didn't save you." He said simply. Draco did though. He had never wanted any harm on her.

"Yes you did, and you know it. You blocked me when that death eater shot a spell at me." Hermione moved her hand on top of Draco's. Their wrists and backs were tied together, so it was easy. "But it's okay. You don't have to admit that right now." Draco ignored her, but kept his hand where it was. He noticed how her bushy hair was brushing on his ears.

"There's nothing to admit. And you really shouldn't be worrying about that when we might get tortured soon." Draco said. Hermione didn't have anything to say to that because she knew he was right.

"Hermione…" Draco started. "If I die, I-" Draco was cut off by the door swinging open. Fenrir stepped in, looking as menacing as ever. Draco could feel Hermione flinch.

Behind Fenrir stood another man with hair almost white and a look that was furious yet calm at the same time. Lucius Malfoy glared down at his son and spat at his feet.

"I never thought I'd see my son so close to a mudblood. It's disgusting."

"I know father. I can't bare it anymore. I feel like I need to take a bath." Draco said, looking his at his dad directly in the eyes. Hermione squeaked quietly enough that only Draco could've heard her. She never expected him to say that. Maybe he really didn't save her before. "Please, father, get me away from her." Lucius looked towards Fenrir for approval. Fenrir nodded and cast a spell on the invisible ropes to make Draco fall, but Hermione stay still. Draco scrambled up on his feet and glared down at Hermione. Lucius bent down to Hermione level and grabbed a few strands of her hair.

"What are we going to do with you?" He asked coldly. He pulled the stand making her topple over. He sneered and then walked away with the other two ahead of him.

Hermione just stared at the door after pulling herself back up. Tears brimmed her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Why was Draco being so mean? Hermione wished so badly that Ron and Harry were here…

Hermione hated being weak. She looked all around the room for some way to get out. All she saw were empty boxes, a broom, and dust. Draco was right. Why couldn't she think of something when she was known at the brightest witch of her age? Hermione feared that she would be tortured worse than she was at the Malfoy manor when Bellatrix used the cruciatus curse on her.

On the other side of the door, Draco felt remorse. He knew his plan now, but acting on it would be difficult.

"Why were you even with her Draco?" Lucius asked his son.

"Some git decided that it was a better punishment for me if I stayed with her instead of going to Azkaban."

"Well that git was right. At least Azkaban is clean." Lucius said. He brought Draco over to the dining table of Fenrir's kitchen. Draco sat across from his father and skimmed the room with his eyes subtly. He found what he had been looking for. His wand. It was sitting on the mantle of the fireplace, with no restrictions on it. Below it, a fire was glowing red hot, and heating the chilly room by a few degrees.

"So what is your plan with me?" He asked Fenrir. Fenrir smiled slightly, showing sharp werewolf teeth.

"Well first we need to make sure that Lucius will join me. Then- if he does- you can too. You'll be able to get away from the mudblood. If he doesn't though…then I have other plans." Draco looked up at his father, curious to see his reaction. It didn't look happy.

Draco stood up and walked back and forth across the kitchen, then walked over to the fireplace while his father and Fenrir talked it over. Some of Fenrir's henchmen noticed his proximity to his own wand. They moved towards him discretely. Draco placed his forearm on the mantle and turned to Fenrir and Lucius. They were yelling in hushed voices. Now was the time to act, so he slowly reached for his wand. His fingers wrapped around it. The death eaters noticed and walked further towards him, watching him with a close eye. He flicked his wand and silenced them with a spell. They realized what had happened and ran at him, making Lucius and Fenrir look up. Draco used petrificus totalus spell on most of them because he didn't want to make any real harm. Of course, one death eater got too close. Draco pushed him, making him collapse into the fire. The fire caught on his sleeve and his mouth opened widely in a silent scream. Fenrir had his wand pointed at Draco when he finally looked at him.

"Draco, be mature for once, and set the wand down." Fenrir's voice was harsh and cruel. Draco didn't know what to do at first but the insult made his decision. He shot spells at him, which were perfectly deflected by Fenrir. Fenrir quickly went on the offense and sent mean spells at Draco. A few more spells later, Lucius stepped in and said,

"Please Fenrir," He said. Then he turned to Draco. "and Draco, stop. I will join you…just stop." Fenrir and Draco breathed heavily and frustration.

"Fine. But your son still needs his punishment for attacking his master."

"I hope you don't mean yourself." Draco said with a glare. Fenrir ran across the floor and grabbed the collar of Draco's jacket. His moves were fast and unstoppable. The werewolf then dragged him to a bedroom with no windows and only one door. Fenrir pushed him in the room and smacked him across the face with the back of his hand. Then he shut the door and set a spell on the room, making it inescapable. Right before he left though he said,

"Don't worry, we will make your mudblood screams, so you can hear her. I know you wouldn't want to miss out." Fenrir smiled and slammed the door behind him. Draco's anger spiked and he was scared for Hermione. There was one good thing that happened though- Fenrir didn't leave any restrictions on Draco so he could walk around the room…he just couldn't get out of it. Another good thing was that Draco still had his wand. There wasn't much he could do with it. He couldn't take off the spell and he couldn't attack Fenrir from one side of the wall. But there was one thing he could do…

Hermione was turning fearful for both Draco and herself. Suddenly she saw the door knob turning and Fenrir walked in with two more death eaters trailing behind. His hair was still gray and matted and his clothes still looked too tight for him. He bent down to Hermione's level just like Lucius had.

"Such a pretty girl. Such despicable blood. But for some reason, I see a perfect werewolf in the making. What do you think?" Fenrir grabbed Hermione's cheeks and dug his yellowing nails into her skin.

"I would never be something so hideous." Hermione scoffed. Fenrir dug his nails in harder before getting up.

"You think you're funny, don't you?" He growled. "Well you will be funny to me when I do this." Fenrir lifted his wand and pointed it down at her. "Crucio!" He yelled in a raspy voice. Hermione- who was still bound- twitched and squirmed all around. She shouted and yelped even though she tried so hard not to. The pain was unbearable. Hermione begged for him to stop, but he didn't.

Five rooms away Draco could hear Hermione screaming. He let out a small whimper that shocked himself.

"PLEASE! STOP!" He heard her pleading. Draco decided what he needed to do, so he did. He lifted his wand and conjured a patronus. Malfoy wasn't very good, because he didn't have a lot of good memories. Suddenly one popped into his head. He used the memory of Hermione and him at the burrow. Apparently the memory was really good because a huge, bright panther appeared in front of him. For a minute he just stared at what he had done. He was amazed to say the least.

Pushing away the shock, he set a spell on it. This would let him send a message with the patronus for help. The next problem was who to send it to. Who would actually help him? All of a sudden he knew. As much as Ron and Harry hated Draco, they still loved Hermione. They would definitely come if they knew she was in danger. So Draco sent the patronus to them with an S.O.S message. Now all that was left to do was wait. This was the worst part of it all.


	8. No Luck

**Sorry this chapter is super short and suspensful!**

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Hermione's screams swam through Draco's thoughts. His patience was dying out and he needed a backup plan. But no matter how much he tried to think of one, none came to mind. He even thought about giving in and joining the death eaters for Hermione's sake, but he couldn't do that because he had no one to tell it too.

Draco sat in the corner of the room, fiddling with his wand. He had tried every spell he knew to get out of the room. The seconds trickled by with no hope or luck. He squeezed his eyes shut and threw his wand in frustration.

Hermione lay on the cold cement floor, gasping from the pain. Fenrir lowered his wand and stopped with the painful spells. Hermione hurt badly and she whimpered. She too had been trying to think of a plan but was unsuccessful. She almost wished that they would just kill her instead of putting her through all this torture. She would die knowing that Draco still viewed her as a mudblood. She would have never found out that Draco had just done that as part of an act to get his wand back to save the two of them.

Hermione's thoughts went back to the endless agony. At one point, Fenrir stopped and kneeled down.

"Alright," He said. Hermione scrunched up her nose from his foul breath. "I have made my decision. I am going to make you a werewolf…but, I want foolish Draco watching. So please, don't move while I retrieve him…not that you could anyway." His smile was cunning and held no love. Splitting your soul does that to you. Voldemort had been even worse.

Hermione bit her lip and let one tear fall. She didn't want to turn into a man eating monster. She knew she would not be able to control herself when the full moon came- she learned that from Lupin. The lack of control could lead her to even killing friends and family. Hermione slumped against the nearest wall breathing heavily. She waited for Fenrir to return with Draco.

Two minutes later he was back in the small supply closet with Draco under a spell. Hermione recalled the spell instantly. It was the same one she was under. Draco stood at the door and now couldn't move at all from that spot. He was in full view of Hermione, but all he could do was speak.

"Hermione." He whispered. He looked at her straight in the eyes. The look he gave showed her that he saw her as his equal. She wasn't a mudblood to him anymore. She wasn't event the girl who punched him at Hogwarts. She was his equal. "I'm sorry."

Hermione looked at him back then faced Fenrir. Coldness filled his eyes as well as hunger. His teeth brushed Hermione's skin but did not pierce her yet.

"Don't worry, it's not that bad. I'll train you to be a strong werewolf- one that can kill in the blink of an eye. It is actually quite fun."

"And in the meantime, you'll make more horcruxes?" Hermione asked. The question, she knew, would spike anger but it might delay the situation.

Fenrir looked taken back. "How did you know about that?" He shouted.

"I know what items they are too." Hermione quickly added. She really had no idea, but she was hoping Fenrir would say something about it. She got lucky.

"Well it doesn't matter because this ring will never come off without me knowing it." He brought his hand up and showed Hermione a dark blue ring that was too tight on his thick middle finger.

"I wasn't intending on taking it off." She glared at Fenrir and looked at Draco from her peripheral vision. He caught her eye and knew that it was message to get the ring off for Harry and Ron later on. He nodded slightly so she put her attention back on Fenrir.

"You are distracting me aren't you? Well pretty girl, I am afraid you are going to be a werewolf no matter how much you keep talking."

Then Fenrir grabbed Hermione's arm and brought his lips toward it. She closed her eyes and heard loud noises…then Fenrir sunk his teeth into her arm…

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**or so Hermione thought...**


	9. The Rescue

Hermione heard people scream and her eyes flashed open. Fenrir wasn't by her side anymore, she realized. And it wasn't his teeth that penetrated her smooth skin…it was sharp pieces from a wall. She pulled them out. She wasn't a werewolf!

She looked up to see all the walls were crumbling down and destroyed. She was still in a binding spell so she couldn't cover her face from the flying debris. But she spoke too soon. Suddenly she was unbound. She shot up and looked around quickly. She saw Draco looking just as confused as she was. Then their faces held recognition. Harry and Ron stood on the other side of the damaged wall fighting Fenrir and other death eaters. Hermione just had to stare at Ron for a second. She missed him so badly. She wanted to run over and kiss him, but she figured that would not be a good idea at the moment. His red hair was already longer than before and his eyes held true determination.

"Draco! Take Hermione and apparate!" Harry yelled over the loud noises.

"I'll send help!" Draco had to shout back. Harry nodded and then Draco pulled his wand from his sweatshirt pocket.

"Wait! I have to get my wand!" Hermione reminded Draco. She refused to leave without it.

"Accio Hermione's wand." Draco said. Five seconds later, it was flying through the air towards them. Hermione jumped to catch it. Once it was in her grip she grabbed Draco's hand. Just before they apparated Hermione screamed,

"Ron! His ring! It's a horcrux!" the spells and grunts were so loud that Hermione had to speak even louder. Ron nodded without looking at them. It wouldn't be good it she broke his concentration.

Next, Hermione apparated with Draco straight to the Ministry. When they got there people stared. Not just because Draco Malfoy- the famous young death eater- was with them, but because they had looks of misery and torture. Their hair was ragged and there were black circles under their eyes.

Hermione and Draco ran through the halls, passing all the staring witches and wizards. They ran straight up to the aurors office. When she got there she started yelling at whoever was there to hear her.

"Ron and Harry are at Greyback's house! They are fighting and there's too many death eater there for them to fight off. Hurry up! All the escapees are there!" She shouted. By now all the aurors had heard and were gathered around her frantically.

"We will go, but where is his house?" One auror asked her calmly. It was obvious that she was scared and distressed. So Hermione answered them and told them to hurry up, so they did.

Hermione breathed heavily, practically hyperventilating. Then poof, all the aurors were gone and Draco and Hermione stood alone in the office. She turned to him and ran into his arms. Draco looked down as she wrapped his arms around him and cried. He didn't know exactly what to do, so he just hugged her back.

"What if they don't get there in time?" She sobbed into his chest. Draco thought that she probably was so worried that she didn't even realize who she was embracing.

"They will don't worry. Harry and Ron are trained to do this kind of stuff." He said.

"But there were so many of them…"

"It's okay. Everything will be okay." Draco really didn't know what he was saying. He picked all this reassuring stuff up from movies and other peoples conversations.

"How did they even know to come?" She asked him. Draco still looked blankly at the wall when he answered her.

"I sent a patronus for them." He said. Hermione looked up at him finally with tears brimming her eyes. Draco wiped one tear away. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything they did to you. They are cruel merciless people. I'm sorry." He repeated.

"It's okay. You couldn't have done anything." Hermione whispered. They stayed wrapped together for another minute before Draco asked,

"So what now? Should we go back to your house?"

"I guess so…but I…I want to help them."

"Oh no! You are not going back there. Fenrir will kill you."

"You know, I am a good fighter. I fought a lot of death eaters at Hogwarts." Hermione pointed out. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Well we are not going back there. I'm pretty sure Fenrir will now make it his initial goal to turn you into a werewolf. So you can't risk going back there."

"Fine. And you're probably right. We will have to put more protection on my house. He will be after me."

"So are we going back to your place?" Draco insisted. Hermione sighed then nodded. With a flick of her wand, they were once again spiraling through space. They landed with a thud on Hermione's front porch. She immediately placed the protection spells around the edges of her yard.

"I really hope they come here after they are done. I want to know if they are okay as soon as possible." Draco reached for Hermione's hand.

"Stop worrying. They will be fine." He intertwined his hand in hers. He was pretty sure this is what they did in movies. Draco found it weird, but trusted the films.

He led her inside and made some tea. He thought something warm would help Hermione. Once it was done he handed it over to Hermione who took it hesitantly.

"What, do you think I poisoned it?" He asked lightly.

"No…just taking precautions." She smiled up at him from the couch. She sat criss-crossed and already, she had a book in her hands. Hermione wasn't really reading it though. She stared down blankly at the words as if they would scramble around and tell her that Ron and Harry were okay. She hoped so much that Ron hadn't gotten injured. They were still engaged and this whole horcrux hunting was taking long enough. She wanted to tie the knot before it was too late…

"Well I will be up in my room if you need me." Draco had made enough efforts to comfort her tonight, so he thought it would be alright if he went upstairs. Hermione nodded and flipped the page of her book absentmindedly. Then Draco left.

Hermione found herself finished with her tea and playing with the pages. Her mind couldn't refocus itself on something else. She couldn't help worrying no matter how much Draco reassured her they were safe. Because of course, the two weren't safe. They were fighting death eaters and Fenrir.

Then unexpectantly, a patronus of a stag stood before her in her living room. Instantly she knew it was Harry's. Then it began to talk. Its voice was frantic.

"Hermione! Let me in your house. You have too many spells around it." Hermione's excitement grew 10 fold…but so did her fear. Hermione cast the spells down only for two minutes to allow Harry and Ron to come in. She ran for the door and found that Harry and Ron were already in her house.

The first thing she noticed was Harry sobbing. He was crying worse than when Dobby had died. Hermione, without even knowing what had happened started to cry too. And that's when she noticed Ron…

He lay limp in Harry's arms. Completely still.

"I'm sorry Hermione. I tried everything. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." Harry's sobs could've filled a glass by now. Hermione's could've filled a whole pond. Hermione didn't try to pull out her wand or even make a potion. It was obvious that Ron. Was. Dead…


	10. The Argument

_Sorry this took so long! I've been busy. And just warning you that this chapter is kinda boring, but I promise that it will get better. This is just helping to lead up to the exciting parts. ;)_

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**After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. ~J.K. Rowling**

That night Draco couldn't sleep. He could hear Harry and Hermione whispering downstairs. He could hear them crying and wiping their noses. He sympathized for them and almost wanted to go down and talk with them. He knew his presence would just upset them, so he stayed put on his bed. He stared up at the ceiling, counting the lines. He felt sorry for Hermione. She never even married him in the end. And he even felt sorry for Harry. Besides Hermione, Ron was one of the only friends he had left… Well, at least he had a friend.

Downstairs Hermione dabbed her eyes with a tissue. She sat on her couch with Harry. Her knees had been brought up to her chest. She still felt like crying but she didn't have any tears left. Hermione still couldn't believe that he was dead. It still felt like he would just wake up at their feet and ask for something to eat. The only way Hermione fully reminded herself that he was dead was by peeking over her knees and seeing her fiancé pale and silent on the floor. Hermione dug her face into Harry's chest and he wrapped his arms around her. He stroked her hair and shut his eyes.

"You will find someone else who will love you just as much. No one can replace Ron, but we will just have to let him go. He would want us to live happily." Harry said.

"I guess you're right Harry. But I don't want to let him go yet."

"You don't have to…but try. He wouldn't want you to stop living." Harry's reassuring words helped Hermione. She knew she couldn't let go any time soon, but she would definitely try.

"I agree." Hermione said after a few moments. "I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It could be the last time you see them. And when we were at Fenrir's I just ran away and barely said anything to him. That was one of my worst choices in my life." A single tear raced down her cheek and fell onto her folded hands.

"Hermione listen to me. You didn't have a choice. It's not like you could pull him out from fighting to hug him. There was nothing you could've done." Once again Hermione had to agree with Harry.

"Harry, not to be rude, but I don't think I can let him go if he is lying on my floor. Would you mind?" Harry understood and so he nodded his head. He used a spell on Ron to make him float in the air. Then he walked to the door. Before he left, he turned to Hermione.

"Hermione I've learned that love can break your heart…but it's worth it." He said and then walked out without another word.

Hermione laid her head down against her pillow. She felt lost and alone, just like Draco. Then she heard a soft purring sound and saw her cat at the arm of the couch. She beckoned her forward and slowly, Crookshanks stepped on Hermione's lap. Hermione stroked the cat and found that an animal's company was better than any persons. Crookshanks soft orange fur calmed Hermione. But not for long.

Draco came into the room, sending Crookshanks into some terrible hissing fit. She ran away leaving Hermione sad. Hermione stared up at Draco waiting for him to say something. He grabbed a chair and sat on it across from Hermione. Then Draco reached for his pocket and pulled out a chocolate frog. He handed it to Hermione.

"Chocolate doesn't solve your problems, but it doesn't make them worse either." He said.

"Where did you get this?"

"I found your secret stash." He noticed Hermione giving him a questionable look. "Don't worry I didn't take any for myself." Hermione did have a secret stash. It was in a black jar in the kitchen cabinet that no one ever opened.

"Well thanks." Hermione answered. Suddenly, she felt uncomfortable with Draco watching her so closely. She looked just as attractive as a mandrake. She attempted to run her fingers through her hair but her fingers just ended up getting stuck so she gave up.

"The death of someone we love is a good reminder that we are still alive, and that we should keep living while we can. He died the best way any man could- trying to save others from dying. Ron was a brave and didn't deserve to die. But no one does. But as long as he stays in our memories, he is still alive." Draco said. He had been thinking of what to say to Hermione when he saw her later. He had decided on the first two sentences, but he couldn't stop from saying the rest, because it was true.

Hermione sat there staring back at Draco. Eventually she let a small smile appear on her face.

"Who knew you could be so deep." She said. Draco smiled somewhat too. "But I suppose you are right. And I know I have to move on, but it's harder than it looks. I want to, I really do but it's not going to be simple. I know how I can speed up the process though."

"How?" Draco asked. He looked at Hermione and saw a change in her expression. Her eyes were still soft and sad, but her eyebrows were set in a determined way and her smile was just a little to cunning for the situation.

"I have to kill Fenrir." She said. "He killed Ron, now I have to return the favor."

"Hermione, you know Harry won't let you." Draco secretly knew that he had replaced his own name with Harry's so Hermione wouldn't be suspicious. Draco did not want Hermione to do something so dangerous especially when Fenrir wanted to turn Hermione into a werewolf.

"If I say it's in Ron's honor, then he might." Draco believed that she might be right. He would just have to convince Harry to say no to her. For now, he played along.

"I guess that's true." Draco said.

"He will probably come over tomorrow, so for now I guess I'll just go to bed. I will be up in my room if you need anything." Hermione said. She got up from the couch and went upstairs to her room. She got under her soft pink blankets after removing the many books that lie on her bed. She hadn't realized how much crying and fighting had exhausted her. In minutes she was in a deep slumber.

Back on the couch one floor below, Draco himself was sleeping. He closed his eyes but still remained upright. It was uncomfortable, yes, but he knew he wouldn't be able to fully sleep if he tried. He always did this after fights. He grieved over deaths and injuries he had caused. He replayed his relationship with his father and how screwed up it was. And the biggest thing that kept him up was how much he cared for Hermione now. He realized that he couldn't be with her. She hated him in the first place so it wasn't even worth it. Little did he know that Hermione felt the exact same way but had more reasons why she shouldn't like him.

Two hours past and only the moonlight streamed through the windows. The stars reminded Draco of Hermione's eyes. They both sparkled. Then without warning a huge scream reverberated throughout the house. Draco's eyes opened in a flash and then he ran up the stairs. He swung open Hermione's door without knocking because he knew that the shout came from her.

When he entered the room the lights were off and no one else was in the room. He saw Hermione still lying beneath her covers. She was screaming into her pillow now and crying. With a sudden revelation, Draco found that she was still sleeping. She was having a nightmare.

"Granger?" He whispered. She didn't hear him but she whimpered. She was talking out loud now. She kept repeating Ron's name. She did mention Draco's name once too. Then again, Hermione was crying. She was still asleep somehow. Draco saw how much pain she was in so sat on the edge of her bed where her head was. He placed his hand on hers to try to wake her up but instead she rolled over to him and wrapped her arms around his arm like a teddy bear.

"Ron, don't go." She said softly. Draco peered down at her. Her grip on him was tight so he swung his legs onto the bed and rested his back against the headboard. He assumed that it would be a while until she woke up. Hermione pulled herself more toward the bed frame as well and rested her head on Draco's chest. He froze and felt extremely awkward. What would she do if she opened and saw him so close to her? "Don't go." She repeated. Draco didn't blame her for having bad dreams. After what had happened lately, he was surprised he wasn't having them too. Then with just Hermione's warmth and his own exhaustion he fell asleep still propped up against the headboard.

When morning came Draco still felt Hermione resting on him. Her screams and mumbles had decreased as the night went on, so Draco had gotten a decent enough sleep. With carefulness he slipped away from Hermione and got off the bed. She rolled back over but didn't notice anything. Her eyes did not even open like Draco expected them to. When Draco headed for the door that's when he observed someone standing at the threshold.

"Well that was interesting." The man said. The man happened to be Harry. Of course Harry would be the one to see Hermione curled up with Draco. And to make the situation worse, Harry didn't know why they had been like that in the first place.

"She was having nightmares." Draco said. He walked past Harry, making sure to hit him with his shoulder.

"Was she crying in her sleep?" Harry asked after rubbing his arm. The two boys walked to the kitchen.

"Yes. Why?" Draco asked.

"She used do that when Ron left during our hunt for the horcruxes." Tears brimmed Harry's eyes as he recalled Ron. Draco wondered what it felt like- to have a friend die. He considered his old friends followers. Crabbe and Goyle always did what Draco told them to do. That is definitely not friendship.

"By the way, how did you get in the house?" Draco asked Harry.

"Oh, Hermione set up this password for me. I can get in at any time now."

"Oh okay…uhh, Harry, I wanted to talk to you about something." Draco declared. They sat at the kitchen table and were drinking coffee. Harry nodded and curiosity laced his eyebrows. "Hermione wants to help you kill Fenrir. And to be quite honest, I don't want her to. Fenrir is already out to make Hermione a werewolf. I think it would just be too dangerous for her. She said she wanted to do it in Ron's honor, but I doubt Ron would want her to go off on a suicide mission." Draco pointed out.

"I never thought I would say this but Draco, I actually agree with you. It's not safe for her. It doesn't matter how good Hermione is at magic, she will be competing with an immortal werewolf. Even I won't do well against him. My wand and his wand don't have the same connection as mine did with Voldemort's. It's just not the same scenario."

"Alright, so it's decided. We won't let her do this." Draco, who was very satisfied, smiled a bit. Now he would not have to worry about Hermione.

"Yes…except there is one tiny detail…" Harry trailed off.

"And what would that be?" Draco asked.

"Hermione is a girl." Harry said bluntly.

"Well I sure as hell hope so." Draco said sarcastically. He wasn't quite sure where Harry was headed.

"If there's one thing I learned about girls in my life is that if they want something, you should never underestimate their ability to get it." After a pause Harry realized something. "I guess you wouldn't have figured that out yet seeing as no girls even wanted to talk to you at school." Harry snickered.

"It's really not that funny. All the girls at our school were complete rubbish." He said indifferently. "And anyway, weren't you the one who got rejected by that Chang girl?" Now it was his turn to laugh.

"Are you two having fun?" Hermione's voice came from nowhere. She waltzed into the kitchen and sat down with them. Harry nodded.

"Did you have a good sleep last night?" Harry had a smirk on his face. Only Draco knew why it was there.

"It was alright. I was having some bad dreams, and my pillow was really stiff so I'm still a little tired." She said. Harry and Draco chuckled knowing that her 'pillow' had been Draco's chest.

"What?" Now she was confused.

'Nothing." Harry said immediately. He winked at Hermione then remembered what Draco had said before. "Oh, and Hermione, you cannot come with me to kill Fenrir. I know that you want to, but it's just not going to happen." Hermione's eyes got slightly bigger and her nostrils flared.

"You told him!" Hermione yelled at Draco. Draco just shrugged and said,

"I thought he ought to know." Hermione glared then turned back to Harry.

"Well it doesn't matter, because I am still going to." She said with indifference.

"What can I do or say to make you change your mind?" Harry rubbed his eyes and sighed, knowing it wasn't a question even worth asking.

"Nothing. I'm going with you." Hermione stated matter-o-factly.

"Fine." Said Harry.

"What? You're not even going to fight her on this! Just a minute ago you said you wouldn't let her come! She'll get killed!" Draco couldn't help from shouting.

"I will not! I'm a great fighter!" Hermione yelled at Malfoy.

"Oh yeah, you really proved that when you were fighting them in your backyard." Draco said sarcastically.

"I hate you Malfoy." Hermione glowered at him but he did not even flinch. After receiving cold stared from Voldemort, Hermione was nothing. Her words stung him though.

"I'm just saying that I really don't think you are ready for this. It is not your job to save the world. That's Harry's job….it's always been."

"It wasn't my job to help him defeat Voldemort either, but I did. And guess what? He's dead." Hermione said. "And Fenrir even has less horcruxes."

"Yes but Fenrir has more of a reason to want to kill you."

"Not true. Voldemort knew I was helping Harry all along and I am a muggleborn. Fenrir wants to turn me into a werewolf just as much as Voldemort had wanted me dead." Hermione knew she won her argument. Draco closed his eyes in frustration.

"Fine. Go off with Harry and get yourself killed."

"You are coming too." She said.

"Oh right." Draco rolled his eyes in annoyance, remembering how he was practically bound to her due to her job. Next, Hermione turned to Harry.

"So where do we start?" She asked. Harry looked up and his lips curved into a cunning smile that Draco thought only Slytherins could do. Then Harry spoke.

"With stealing Fenrir's ring."


	11. PoLyJuIcE pOtIoN

I just want to say how sorry i am for not updating in like 3 months! i guess i just forgot. and thank you "booksramazing97" for reminding me :) well anyway, i hope you enjoy and i will try to write more. and please offer suggestions! i love knowing what you are thinking and how i can make my writing better

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It was four days later when Harry Hermione and Draco set off for Fenrir's hideout. Never had they imagined purposefully heading towards the hideous werewolf. They knew that he had bitten about ten people already, but they were brave enough to steal from him.

"Everybody know the plan?" Hermione asked.

"Well seeing as you mentioned it every five minutes, how could we not?" Draco said. Hermione ignored him. They reached a group of trees and hid behind them. Hermione passed out three cups and poured a foul drink evenly in each of them. Then she placed hairs in each.

"Cheers." She said unsurely. They clanked their glasses together and drank the potion. Then without any hesitation, the potion started changing their entire look. Hermione grew another foot and her hair got shorter and darker. Draco shrunk and weight was instantly added to his lean body. Harry- who was too familiar with the polyjuice potion- began to morph into someone with very crooked teeth and hollow eyes. They looked at each other with skeptically.

"That was awesome." Draco said. He had never used polyjuice potion before. "So uhh…who exactly are we?"

"I am a woman named Beatrix Aesalon. She works for the ministry in order to help Fenrir find out things. Harry, your last name is Bashir. Sorry but I couldn't find his first name. But anyway, you usually do Fenrir's dirty work: killing and taking care of newly bitten werewolves. And Draco you are Marcus Chittok. You are smart and give Fenrir good ideas." Hermione paused and looked up at the big stone house. "I'm sorry I couldn't have gotten more information. They have been very quiet about things lately. We will just have to act our best and show no fear. If we do, he will become suspicious. Oh and try not to attract attention to yourselves. We are only here to get the ring."

Harry and Draco nodded their heads and they began the plan. Harry would go in first, then Hermione, and finally Draco. After Harry apparated in Hermione waited 3 minutes and then she walked up to the double doors. She looked back and gave Draco an encouraging smile. Then she knocked. To her luck Harry answered the door. He glanced around then whispered,

"They are having a meet upstairs. There are only three other people besides Fenrir, so I think we can do this." He had a reassured look on his face that made Hermione's heart lift. He was always so positive. She admired this about him. He was coping so much better without Ron than she was.

Harry led Hermione up the windy staircase and into a room with a round table.

"So Beatrix, you've finally decided to join us." Fenrir said. He folded his fingers, showing the ring on his finger.

"So sorry sir." Hermione bowed her head and had a seat next to Harry. She had made each of them work on their voices before they came here. She knew they would have to talk at some points.

"Where were we?" Fenrir asked. "Ah, yes. We were discussing on where we were going to hide this." Fenrir bent down over his chair and grabbed something. When he placed it on the table Hermione's eyes grew large. "Great job on your part Bashir with retrieving it. It is essential that we keep it safe." The weapon sat glimmering and showing the etched words on the blade. Hermione was amazed that Bashir had gotten the Gryffindor Sword…one of the things that could destroy horcruxes.

The sound of Draco knocking on the door made Hermione's transfixed eyes, move around the room looking for anyone who wanted to open the door.

"I will get that." She said. Volunteering herself would give her an opportunity to give Draco the details.

She walked back down and opened the door and peered up. She swallowed back a gasp. Lucius Malfoy stood in front of her with a look of disgust on his face. He pushed her aside.

"They are upstairs." She said after getting herself back together.

"I know where they are." He spat. She was following him back up when the door knocked one last time. She answered to Draco. His father had already made it upstairs so Hermione knew it was safe to talk.

"Your dad just came in." She lowered her voice.

"I know. I saw him walk in."

"Right. Oh and by the way, there's a change of plans. Do everything else like normal, but we also need to get the Gryffindor sword. Fenrir is debating on where to hide it."

"Why do we need it?" He asked.

"It will destroy the horcruxes." Hermione said quickly, then she led Draco back upstairs and Draco was left to sit beside his father and across from Hermione. He was scared, Hermione could tell.

Fenrir looked annoyed at the late wizards, but he proceeded.

"I want it to be buried somewhere far away from my horcruxes." He looked up at the ceiling and mumbled to himself.

"Where are your horcruxes? I could find a perfect location away from them if I know." Hermione said. She was being too hopeful. Surely Fenrir wouldn't fall for a trick like that, he couldn't be _that_ stupid. But if he did, it would help them greatly.

"Beatrix I have already told you where they are." Fenrir rolled his eyes. "One is outside of the Forbidden Forest." He smiled cunningly. "That's where I was bitten." He looked so proud of being a werewolf that it made Hermione sneer. "And then the second one is on the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts where I bit five students." He laughed and then paused. He turned to Harry. "Speaking of which, have you gotten any leads about where that filthy mudblood is? I still need to kill her." Harry paled a little bit, knowing he was talking about Hermione.

"Yes actually. I heard she is near Godrick's Hollow. Her and Potter are visiting his parent's grave." Harry grew sad about his parents. He knew it was the best place to say since they wouldn't be going there at all. Hermione smiled at him, and then quickly hid her delight.

"Very good. We will go there tomorrow." He showed his sharp teeth in an appreciative smile then Fenrir looked back at Hermione. "So what do you make of the sword? I don't want anyone destroying my horcruxes so we need to hide this quickly."

"Umm…do you have any other horcruxes? Trust me, it will help to know where they are."

"Just the two I mentioned, as well as this one." He raised his hand to show the ring.

"Oh right." Hermione said. She needed to buy some time to think of a good place to hide it. The thought popped into her head at the perfect time. "You should hide it somewhere muggles live. No one would ever suspect it to be there." Fenrir pursed his lips and pondered the suggestion.

Next Draco coughed. Harry and Hermione looked up at the clock. It was time. It was time to put their plan in action. Hermione watched Harry's fist open and a small black ball roll out. And suddenly the ball burst open, filling the room with a dark cloak. The Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder gave the three of them a perfect distraction. Calls of distress were filling the room also. Harry ran for Fenrir, Hermione ran for the sword and Draco helped by fighting off anyone who got too close. Hermione felt her hands on the blade of the Gryffindor Sword and grabbed it. She put it in her belt and ran to help Harry. This was where the real fight was taking place. The darkness was beginning to fade so Hermione could see exactly what was going on.

Fenrir had his teeth bared and Harry was standing hunched over, watching his every move. Harry had his wand out. It was pointed directly at Fenrir's heart. Hermione watched as Bashir slowly turned back into Harry and Marcus turn into Draco. Then Hermione herself turned back to her own body. Fenrir eyes turned cold when he saw Hermione. He lunged at her becoming more werewolf than man.

"Patrificus Totalus!" Harry shouted. Fenrir fell motionless with locked arms and legs. Everyone was surprised it had been that easy. His bloodlust for Hermione was too strong for a distraction like Harry's spells. Harry grabbed the ring and put it on his own finger. But the fight wasn't over. The four other guests, as well as Lucius came at them. Lucius turned on Hermione.

"Avada-" He started to say. Draco ran at his father and pushed him to the ground. They tackled each other for a split second, then Lucius got back up on his feet, followed by his son.

"How dare you!" Lucuis bellowed.

"Do. Not. Hurt. Her." Draco glared at his father with a look that frightened Hermione. She was amazed at his protectiveness.

"You're protecting this mudblood?" Lucius was furious.

"She's not a mudblood!"

"And you are not my son." Lucius spat. Then Lucius began shooting spells at Draco, and they fought. Hermione was busy with her own attacker and Harry with his own. More wizards came at them, wands poised in their hands. With great skill the trio fought effortlessly.

"We need to get out of here!" Hermione shouted over the explosions. She inched towards Harry who was backing up near Draco. Hermione reached her hand out and touched Harry. He did the same to Draco. Then without another second wasted Hermione had them all spinning through the air. They all landed flat on their feet at the foot of Hermione's house. They all sat down and got their breathing back to normal before they entered the house. Apparation just after fighting was exhausting.

"Harry do you have the ring?" Hermione asked. He nodded as he put the ring in his pocket.

"Good. I got the sword." She placed the weapon on the table and smiled. "That went really well! We even got a bonus." Hermione gestured to the sword. Draco smiled at her more than what she had said. He was just happy that she was happy. Her smiles were lately making Draco's day, even though he would never admit to it. Suddenly, Hermione began to frown.

"We will probably have to leave soon though." She paused and traced the cracks of the table with her finger absentmindedly. "Fenrir will start coming here…I don't know why he hasn't yet. But when he does, it might be possible that he will break the barrier I have up."

"Where should we go?" Harry asked.

"I guess we should go where we used to go when we were finding Voldemort's horcruxes." She suggested. Draco felt out of place whenever she and Harry discussed their past.

"Good idea. We should start packing tonight." He declared. And so that is exactly what they did. The three of them went their separate ways to their own bedrooms. Hermione cast an undetectable extension charm on one of her bags and filled it will everything she thought they would need. This included about twelve books, clothes, food, a tent, medicine, and more.

It was ten o' clock by the time they all finished. Hermione was just laying down when Draco came into the room.

"Did you remember to pack your chocolates?" He said with a crooked smile. His hair fell in his face and Hermione secretly decided that that was her favorite part about him.

"Yes I did actually. Four bags right there." She smiled and showed him the bags that were sitting on her desk. She twiddled with her fingers and Draco stayed silent, knowing she wanted to say something. "Thank you Malfoy. For everything. You protecting me like that…well it must've taken a lot of strength to stand up to your father." Her brown eyes met Draco's and he melted. In his entire life he had never seen someone so kind and forgiving. He was so mean to her at Hogwarts and here she was, thanking him.

"It was nothing. It was just something that needed to be done." He said like it was no big deal. In reality it was like a fifty pound weight had been lifted off of his shoulder.

"It's not only that though. You went against your entire childhood. You hurt your old death eater buddies" She laughed knowing 'buddy' was a weird word to use there. "and you helped me and Harry. The fact that you did that even though you didn't have to just proved," Hermione stood up and walked over to him. Nervous, she placed her hand on his cheek. "that you are a good person now." Unexpectedly, she hugged him. As soon as she did it she felt stupid. "I'm proud of you Malfoy." She looked at him sincerely and walked back to her bed making him speechless. Foolishly, he stood there for a minute just staring. "You might want to get to bed now. I'll be waking you up early tomorrow. Oh and could you shut off the lights when you leave? Thanks." She turned on her side, resting her head on her pillow and Draco left, flicking the light off. He looked back before shutting the door and couldn't help thinking that she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen…


	12. Into the Forest

**Comment and review! :) thanks**

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Exhausted and sore, they woke up the following morning to be rushed out the door. They went out to the back yard and waited for Hermione to apparate them away. She took one last look at her house and a deep breath. It seemed that her life was full of leaving things and people behind. Her life was constantly a moving journey that never ended. Harry's was the same way but Hermione had more trouble with letting go.

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and flicked her wand after taking down the protection charms. She thought of Deans Forest- a place they had stayed when the war was brewing.

They landed softly on the snowy ground. The trees, icy and bare, were scattered around them, leaving a path to a pond. It was covered in ice but still gleamed beautifully under the suns gentle rays. Harry shook his head and chuckled remembering that god forsaken pond.

"What is it?" Draco asked curiously.

"I went in there when I was half naked." Harry pointed to the pond. "It was just like that too: frozen." Draco looked at him with a confused face. Harry ignored it, leaving his more curious than before.

"I can't believe you ever did that. It was stupid. You should've gotten me before you jumped in. And what kind of a story would it be if the great Harry Potter died from hypothermia? Pathetic." Hermione smiled and shook her head too. Hermione then performed all the protective enchantments and pulled out the tent. Harry and Draco helped her magically to set it up. They entered quickly to warm themselves up. Hermione made a fire and they all sat around it.

"So, this is where you lived all that time?" Draco asked. He looked around with a scrutinizing look.

"It's just as bad as you think. You'll get used to it though." Hermione grabbed some tea and heated it over the fire. "And at least we have edible food this time." She looked over to Harry. "Remember how I used to pick mushrooms?" She reminisced. She remembered how Ron had reacted to eating them. She quickly turned sad. She knew Harry recalled that memory too. He looked down at the ground and didn't make eye contact with her for a while.

"Anyway, I suggest we go to the Forbidden Forest since Fenrir's horcrux is there."

"I can't believe he was stupid enough to tell you that." Draco shook his head and smiled. The other two agreed.

"Well it's settled then. We will go tomorrow."

"Yeah but isn't the Forbidden Forest on Hogwarts grounds?" Draco asked. Hermione nodded obviously. "Well don't they set the same precautions as they did when Voldemort was around? Like the protection charms and dementors? It will be impossible to get in."

"It would be impossible to get in if you didn't know someone who taught there." Hermione beamed. "Harry, I think it's time to make a visit to our old friend Neville."

It was three days later when they received a letter from Professor Longbottom who now taught Herbology at Hogwarts. He had responded to their letter by telling them that they could come on Sunday and he would meet them at Hogsmeade. The trio prepared by having lighthearted duels and making sure the sword was tucked away carefully. On Sunday morning they sat dressed and ready at the small kitchen table. Hermione was making breakfast for them and Draco went to see what she was arranging. Her nose was scrunched up.

"What happened!" Draco exclaimed. He looked in the pot of stew. It was bubbling and starting to turn black. "Are you making more polyjuice potion?"

"Ha, ha, very funny Malfoy." Hermione set the spoon down and faced him. "I've found that you have to make mistakes. If your life is free of failures then you are not taking enough risks." She said.

"But do you have to make mistakes with food?" He said. "Make me a real breakfast woman." He demanded.

"Bloody hell Draco." Harry put his head in his hands. "Just back away slowly." He warned. Hermione glared at him and then at Draco.

"I have been cooking for your arse this whole entire time and you call me 'woman'! Hell, I even got your dim self out of jail. You have no right-" She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "You know what, never mind. I'll make something else." Abruptly she turned her back on the men and whipped up a different breakfast meal.

Draco sat down quietly with wide eyes.

"I have never understood women, and I never will." He muttered to Harry. He grinned.

"I can tell seeing as you had no girlfriends in school." Harry said. Draco frowned at him. Then Hermione came over and placed their food in front of each of them.

"Thanks." Draco said. She looked down without any trace of emotion on her face then sat down. Hermione didn't speak during their breakfast and it annoyed Draco. His frustration grew with each passing minute. Hermione finished first and left the room. Immediately Harry looked up.

"It's dangerous when girls are quiet." He said.

"Especially Hermione. I have never met someone who talks as much as her." Draco commented. They laughed together.

"Don't worry though. She'll get over it. She always does." Harry washed his plate and set it in the sink.

"She hasn't gotten over Ron." Draco whispered.

"Well what did you expect? She's not Voldemort. She will move on from him when she's ready. Just give it time."

"I don't care when she gets over him." Draco acted indifferent.

"Of course you do. The faster she moves on from Ron, the faster she comes crawling to you." Harry said this bluntly as if it had been obvious to him the whole time. When Draco stared at him appalled and disgusted, Harry continued. "Oh c'mon Malfoy. I know you like her."

"No I do not!" Draco stood up and pointed his wand at Harry. "Take that back."

"First off if you shoot one spell you will be sent directly back to Azkaban. And second of all no, I will not take that back because I know it's true."

"But I don't like-"

"Silencio." Harry said as she shot the spell at Draco. Malfoy glowered and Harry just shook his head dramatically signaling for him to stop. He looked over Draco's shoulder and Malfoy's eyes followed. Hermione was entering the room next to them. She had her head buried in a book as usual. Harry gave Draco an 'I told you so' look and took the spell off.

"Thanks." Draco mumbled gratefully. Harry nodded and they left the room.

"Should we go now?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Yep." She grabbed his hand and Draco touched Harry's. Once again they were apparating. The feeling of sickness still came to all three of them even after all the years of doing it.

They landed on the path where Katie Bell had touched the necklace in their 6th year. They walked a fair distance into the Three Broomsticks. When they entered the pub they spotted Neville Longbottom. He waved them over to a table.

"Harry!" He beamed. He hugged him followed by Hermione. "I haven't seen you all in so long. What have you been up to?"

"Work." Hermione and Harry said at the same time.

"We both work at the ministry."

"Fascinating…oh." Neville noticed Draco behind the two of them. "You didn't mention a third person in your letter." They shrugged apologetically as they drank their butterbeer.

"Well he is…I guess you can say…a new project of mine." Hermione chose her words carefully and unsurely. "I am just doing the ministry a slight favor."

"Slight favor? You are bringing an ex death eater to go kill a horcrux. It may just be me but I don't think that's a slight favor." He looked over to Draco. "Uhh, sorry mate."

"It's a long story. But basically he has to be with us right now. Don't worry though, he won't do anything wrong."

"That's right. I am a good boy now." Draco smirked. Neville still looked unsure but he did not question them.

"I hate to rush you Neville but we should probably get going." Harry said. "Fenrir might track us and we don't have any protection."

"Right. We better hurry up then." They quickly slurped up their butterbeer and apparated to the foot of the Hogwart's protection barrier.

"We had to put up these charms after two more kids got bitten by Fenrir here. It is really terrible." Neville raised his wand and lowered the protection spell. They ran through the gate and Neville set up the charm again. They walked further, past Hagrid's hut and past the main entrance of Hogwarts. Before they began their journey through the dense trees Neville told them he had to leave. They parted ways after thanking him and promising that they would visit more often. But for now they were own their own again.

They weaved throughout the wide trees. An ominous feeling settled around them like it always did in the forest. There was a ghostly mist that never seemed to fade away. An eerie silence also hung around them.

"I wish we could apparate in here. That would make this so much easier." Hermione complained.

"Do we even know where the horcrux is? He only said that it's at the edge of the forest, but that's a big area to cover. Plus, we don't even know what we are looking for." Draco said. They all looked at each other hopelessly.

No one responded to him because no one knew the answer. From now on luck would have to be their best friend.

And so they persisted. Even when they ran into a couple of centaurs, they slyly slid by without many questions. They knew Harry very well. They were somewhat hostile, but as long as they let them all pass, they did not mind.

It was beginning to get cold, and still the end of the trees was not visible. Darkness was falling upon them but not because it was night. The trees blocked all sunlight so the three of them had to resort to using Lumos on their wands to illuminate the area around them.

Later Hermione checked the time and it was getting late. They had expected to be done earlier, but they hiked on. The snow under their feet was melting making the dirt muddy and wet. It was not a pleasurable walk one bit. They had encountered a lot more uncomfortable situations in their past though, so the group barely noticed how cold they were.

It was around 10 'o'clock when they saw a streak of light coming through the trees. Their pace quickened. Finally, they were out. They took a deep breath of fresh, freezing air and wiped their shoes off on the grass. Hermione looked up and admired the full moon and stars that surrounded it. She sat down and propped herself up against a tree.

"Let me just take a quick break." She said to the boys.

"That's fine. I'll start looking." Harry said. He walked off with his head down in search of anything out of the ordinary.

"I need a break to." Draco said. He sat beside her and rubbed his hands back and forth for warmth. Hermione shivered. Draco didn't think about what he did next. He placed his arms around her shoulders. She looked over in surprise.

"Sorry, just thought it would warm you up." Draco felt like an idiot. He quickly removed his arm. Hermione could feel her cheeks getting red.

"It did." She smiled and scooted closer. Draco draped his arm around her shoulders once again. It was awkward but neither of them wanted to move.

Hesitantly Hermione rested her head on his shoulder.

"How did we end up like this?" Hermione sighed. "We used to hate each other. You used to call me a mudblood and now here we are, sitting side by side without a desk in front of us.

"The world just wanted to punish me for being a death eater, so they stuck me with you." Draco said. Hermione jerked away and glared.

"Am I really that horrible?" Hermione exclaimed. Draco just laughed and threw his hands up in mock surrender.

"I was just joking." His pale eyes met hers and he looked away embarrassed. Hermione gave a half smile.

A few minutes past before they felt rested. Hermione stood up and helped Draco onto his feet.

"Well we should go help Harry. I want to find this damn horcrux as soon as possible." Hermione said. Draco walked in front of her, taking the lead. The two of them kept their heads down incase Harry missed something. They walked for ten minutes straight without any trace of a horcrux.

Hermione looked up once and saw Draco in deep concentration. His eyes reflected innocently under the moon's glow and his hair fell in his face from the lack of haircuts. His cheeks were red and his lips were too due the cold. Hermione also noticed just how soft his lips looked…

"Hermione! Draco!" All of a sudden shouting grew louder and louder. There were heavy footsteps and then they saw Harry running through the shadows. Hermione grew frantic and positioned her wand in an attack.

When he reached them he was alone and unharmed. He bent over to catch his breath. Draco and Hermione stood puzzled. Then Harry looked up and held something in his hand.

"I think I found the horcrux."

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**Any suggestions for what should happen next? how are you liking dramione? and what should the horcrux be? hmmm...**

**haha! thanks everyone for reading**


	13. Black Dust

Hi everybody. i am so sorry this has taken so long! And i want to thank everyone who gave me advice or suggested what the horcrux should be. please continue reviewing (bad or good) i love hearing what you have to say. hope you enjoy! :)

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"It's a…robe." Hermione stuttered. She was too confused to say anything else. "Why would Fenrir want to have a robe as a horcrux?"

"It's a Hogwarts robe too. Probably that of a first year. It is very small." Harry pointed out.

"How do you know it's a horcrux? Maybe it was just lost here when a student was wandering around." Draco said.

"Here. Listen." Harry tossed Malfoy the robe and the three of them fell silent. Draco caught it and put it to his ear. He didn't even need to be that close to hear the rhythmic thumping coming from the robe. Harry and Hermione could hear it too.

"It sounds like a…"

"Heart beat?" Hermione finished Draco because she knew what he would say. Draco nodded and handed it over to Hermione. "Maybe this cloak belonged to someone who he bit. Maybe it has a name…" She wondered. Hermione turned the robe inside out and out again but there was no name to be found.

"Does it really matter who it belonged to? Point is, we have to destroy it. The longer we wait here the more people he could possibly be biting. The longer we wait here, the more powerful he gets."

"Never thought I'd see the day that Draco Malfoy wants to kill someone evil." Harry said.

"I can go back to the way I was before if you'd prefer." Draco glared.

"Malfoy is right." Hermione said.

"What, that I can become mean again?" Draco asked.

"No, that we need to destroy as soon as possible." She turned towards him. "And Malfoy, you will always be mean."

After some time passed they knew they had to hurry up and start their trip back out of Hogwarts and to a new location. They would have to set up new protection charms and build the tent back up. It would take long enough to get back out of the Forbidden Forest-not to mention all the things they had to do once they were out-so they scurried back into the wide range of trees and blackness.

"Harry, do you think we could go to Grimmauld place? I mean it still has protection right?" Hermione asked. She hated sleeping in a tent, especially in the cold

"It should." Harry answered. "But do you think it is alright to bring Malfoy there?"

"Wait a minute. This entire time we could have been in a house? Why wasn't that the first place you thought of?" Draco demanded to know. So far they were only a quarter of the way out of the forest.

"I guess it slipped my mind. We used to stay there when we were finding Voldemort's horcruxes. I think it should still be safe to go to. What do you think Harry?" Hermione asked. Harry agreed and so they settled on number 12, Grimmauld place.

As the time passed the silence grew from lack of conversation. Darkness also grew which made the forest surprisingly creepier than it was before. Whenever the trees would bend from the wind, they all instinctively raised the wands higher. It was only until they had their last fifteen minutes left of their walk when another important question came up.

"Who wants to destroy the robe?" Harry asked. They each looked at each other and thought to themselves.

"Well Harry has already destroyed one. Tom Riddle's diary. And I have destroyed one too. Hufflepuff's cup. So that leaves Malfoy if he is brave enough." Hermione smirked.

"Of course I'm brave enough!" Draco remarked meanly.

"So you'll do it then?" Harry checked. Draco nodded annoyingly and the conversation slowly died. They were all becoming too exhausted to even speak. Their footsteps became dragged and their eyelids were drooping.

It was 2 in the morning when they finally reached the gates of Hogwarts. Luckily, leaving was easier then entering so they just had to open the gate and disapparate. Harry brought them to the doorstep of Grimmauld Place after watching the door appear between number 11 and 13. The muggles thought they had made a mistake in numbering the buildings, but they had no idea that a secret house lived just where number 12 should be.

"Here we are." Harry gestured around the hallway for Draco.

"This place is filthy!" Draco exclaimed as he examined the thin sheet of dust that coated the creaking floor boards.

"Then we better go back and live in the tent." Hermione pursed her lips at the fact that Draco could never be satisfied. He rolled his eyes and looked at her.

"This is fine. My house was just a lot better than this trash heap." Draco sighed. They all walked to the kitchen and sat down. Harry placed the cloak flat on the table and Hermione pulled out the Gryffindor sword.

"Are you ready?" She asked Draco.

"Yes. Let's just get this over with so I can sleep." He grabbed the sword from Hermione and stood up. As he pointed the sword at the cloak something unexpected happened.

The robe flew high in the air sensing the basilisk venom. Rapidly it spun around, turning into a cloud of black dust with no distinct shape. Suddenly it flew at Draco trapping him in a perfect wall of blackness. He buckled over, startled. Some of the dust made a thick string and wrapped around Draco's throat, choking him. When it finally released, he gasped for breath and fell to his knees. From the outside of the cloud Harry and Hermione stood helplessly waiting. They couldn't see through the thickness and they had no idea what was actually happening to Malfoy. It formed a perfect cylinder from the floor to the ceiling.

Back inside the cloud, Draco coughed, still trying to get what little oxygen was inside the blackness. Draco had no idea that this was going to happen but he knew that he still must stab the dust. Weak, he raised his arm slowly with the sword in his hand. Just when he was nearing the wall, the dust flung him back with so much power that his head hit an actual wall of the room. The cloud reformed and gathered around him. This time it talked.

_**I have seen your dreams, Draco Malfoy, and I have seen your fears. All you desire is possible, but all that you dread is also possible... Least loved, always, by the father who always craved a loyal son... Least loved, now, by the girl who still sees you as a beast…**_

It spoke from nothingness. Draco's pale eyes widened in fright and his skin lost what little color it had. Draco could not take hearing anymore of the black dust that used to be a delicate robe. He could not take the heavy breathing he had to do. He could not take hearing about how his father hates him. And most of all he could not take hearing that Hermione is scared of him…

With tears building up in his eyes and pain in his heart, he stood up and slashed at the wall of darkness around him. He closed his eyes and repeatedly stabbed the demented horcrux until he could breathe again and hear nothing but his angry grunts.

His breathing was shaky, as well as his whole body. He whimpered and fell to the floor once again. A single tear escaped his eye and he gripped the sword so tightly that his skin cracked. When he finally opened his eyes and looked up the blackness was gone. All the laid in front of him was a robe with a huge tear running down it. It was dead. Part of Fenrir's soul was gone forever…

Hermione looked down at him worried for him. She had heard what the horcrux said. She didn't know for sure if it had been talking about her, but at that moment it didn't matter. She felt bad for him. She saw sadness, and rage, and fright in his eyes. She knew that he needed comforting.

She sat down beside him and hugged him gently. He hugged her back loving the warmth that she brought. Then she said,

"It is gone. You will be okay Draco." Their eyes met. And he smiled because that was the first time she had ever called him Draco…

Maybe he wasn't a beast after all….


	14. Hogsmeade

**this chapter is where things will finally pick up for Dramione ;) please keep reviewing. Thanks!**

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Harry and Draco slept fitfully upstairs while Hermione made herself some tea in the kitchen. Her head was still swarming from the night before. She had hugged Draco and she had felt…sorry for him? She didn't think she would ever have feelings for him except for hatred. The hug itself wasn't necessarily odd, it was the feeling that it brought. Hermione felt comfortable with his arms around her, and hers around him. She felt safe with his head resting on her shoulder. And most of all, she felt happy from being able to reassure him. Happiness wasn't a feeling she would use to describe herself lately. But now, she could. Of course other feelings came along with that happiness caused by Draco. Confusion was one of the main ones. That whole night she lay in bed, with conflicted emotions, and confusion of what to think.

With all these thoughts swirling around in her mind she didn't even realize that she had left the tea heating for twice as long as it was supposed to. Hurriedly, she turned the dial off on the stove and watched as the boiling water settled down. As she made her way to the table she heard a soft peck on the door. Curious, she made a beeline towards the front of the house.

When she got there Hermione stood on her tip toes and looked out of the small peep hole. There, on the porch she saw a black owl with brown specks on its chest. The owl shook snow flecks from its feathers and waited patiently at the foot of the snowy doorstep. Hermione grabbed her wand, just in case, and opened the door just a crack. There was a small letter poised in the bird's beak. It was an official looking letter with neat, cursive handwriting. Hermione grabbed the letter from the bird and stroked its head.

"Sorry, but I don't have any owl treats." She said. And with that, the bird took off like it knew what Hermione had said.

She quickly shut the door to not allow any cold morning air to come in, nor any hurtful intruders. Hermione then walked back into the kitchen where she fixed herself breakfast and sat down. As she ate she sliced open the letter and pulled out a thin sheet of paper.

_Dear Ms Granger,_

_I realized that I am long overdue for a visit. Draco Malfoy will need to have many checkups from me if we wish for him to change. I feel terrible for not writing to you or asking how things are going. Therefore, I wish to have a quick meeting with you and Mr. Malfoy at six o'clock today at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade. Please convene with me there so we can discuss his future as well as other events that are going on in the wizarding world. I am sure you have heard of Fenrir Greyback and I hope that you will share your thoughts about him with me. _

_Thank you for all your trouble and understanding. _

_-Broderick Ackerley_

The note caught her by surprise. She had almost forgotten why she was taking care of Draco in the first place. Malfoy had nearly escaped Azkaban, thanks to her. Mr. Ackerley had given Draco a second chance. If Malfoy didn't change by the end of the year than, he would be sent to Azkaban. If he did, then he would be freed. It was only because of his parents and his age that he was given this chance. Besides that, Draco Malfoy was definitely worthy of Azkaban prison…or well, he used to be. Hermione had to admit that he had changed, though she would never tell him that.

Hermione re-read the letter once more. This time she paid attention to the next part. She was glad that news already reached the ministry about Fenrir. She wasn't going to tell Ackerley that she was already trying to kill Greyback. Maybe she would inform him of his strengths and of his followers. But she didn't think it wise to already jump to horcrux talk…especially right after Voldemort.

Hermione set down the note and went back to her room. She bought countless amounts of history books a few days ago that she thought would help with the horcruxes and now she was finishing her third book. She headed for her chair and picked up _Dark Magic Myths and Mysteries. _She continued her book as she waited for the two boys to awake.

Meanwhile Draco rolled over on his bed. He had been awake for two hours already, just thinking. His mind constantly raced back to the horcrux. The things it said were true and the things it did were unforgettable. He tried to push it from his mind, but it was impossible. Draco also thought of Hermione. Even though he was really too stunned to realize it at the time, Hermione had held him and eased his worries. She had also called him by his first name. He smiled at the thought. Immediately, he took his grin away. The horcrux had said that Hermione still thought of him as a monster. Was that true? Or did that change that very night?

Feeling annoyed at his unforgiving thoughts, he rolled out of bed and went downstairs. When he reached the kitchen he made himself some toast and sat down. He saw the letter that Hermione had left and he read it.

When he finished he shut his eyes and threw the letter down. The note made him seem like some freak potion's experiment. He stood up and tossed the letter in the trash, hoping that Hermione didn't need it anymore. He didn't like thinking about how the reason he was here was because he has once been a death eater.

A few minutes later Harry appeared with his red Gryffindor pajamas.

"Hermione and I have to go meet Ackerley today." Draco sighed.

"Well as long as you are with Hermione, you'll have a good time I'm sure." Harry smirked.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Draco demanded.

"It means that you obviously like her."

"Do not!"

"Do to."

"Do not."

"Do. To." Harry said. Draco slouched in his chair looking defeated.

"Fine. I do. But don't tell her! She still hates me." Malfoy admitted lamely.

"No she doesn't. I think she's just scared."

"Exactly! She still thinks I'm a death eater that wants to hurt her."

"That's not what I meant." Harry said. "I think that she is scared that if she likes you, then she is moving on from Ron too fast. It's not like they broke up. He _died_ when they were still together. Therefore she still loves him." Harry blinked back a few tears. Ron's death wasn't that long ago.

"Let's say you're right. What can I do?" Draco asked. Harry thought for a moment.

"First, you have to promise that you will never say mudblood or anything like that ever again. That will help a lot." Draco grunted. How could he do that? It was how he was raised! "Malfoy? Promise."

"Fine. I won't say that anymore. But you have to know that I am really lowering my standards here." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Next you have to be nice to her. I know that might sound crazy, but believe it or not, when you like someone, you have to be nice to them." Harry chuckled to himself. Draco rolled his eyes as he set his dishes in the sink.

"I gathered that much." Draco stood nervously, fiddling with his long bony fingers. Small beads of sweat even formed on his forehead.

"Scared Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"You wish." Next they heard footsteps. Hermione was coming toward the kitchen.

"Draco, here's your chance. Do something." Harry suggested quickly. When Hermione came in the room Draco scrambled for words.

"Hermione, I have to tell you something." Draco paused. His breath quickened. He looked over at Harry for encouragement

"What is it?" Hermione asked. Draco couldn't bring himself to tell her that he liked her. The first thing that came to his mind to say was,

"Is Harry coming with us to Hog's Head this afternoon?" Harry laughed to himself quietly.

"Uhh, I don't think he was invited. This is a meeting for just you and me." Hermione said. When no one said anything she said, "If you need me I will be in my room." Then she left.

"You officially have no balls." Harry laughed at Draco. Malfoy went over to Harry and punched him hard, then he left too, without saying another word.

When six rolled around, Draco and Hermione were ready to go. They apparated straight into Hog's Head and ordered some butter beer. Five minutes passed and then Broderick showed up, carrying some paperwork.

The next hour and a half was filled with boring conversation about how Draco was doing. Broderick asked many questions related to his actions and development. Hermione said mostly positive things about Malfoy. She didn't want Draco to be sent to Azkaban. And after a whole day of thinking, she didn't want Draco to be sent away from her either. Admittedly, Hermione was starting to have feelings for him…ones that went beyond friendship…

The rest of the meeting was talk about Fenrir. Hermione gave away some of his whereabouts and followers. Ackerley jotted down a lot of notes while Draco sat uninterested.

It was about eight o' clock when they finally finished. The tiresome appointment was like any other- lengthy and dull. Broderick left with a quick thank you and a huge pay check for Hermione. Malfoy and her left the Hog's Head and headed toward Dervish and Banges. Harry had wanted them to pick up some things for him there.

The snow was finally starting to melt but it was still chilly outside. Draco put his bare hands deep in his pockets as he walked with his head down. Hermione had been smart and brought a pair of mittens to wear.

'BAM!' Suddenly two red streaks came at them and they swiftly ducked from the spell. They pulled out their wands as fast as they could. They continued to throw nasty spells at them; relentlessly Malfoy and Granger stood back up and faced their opponents. There were two men. They were both extremely tall and threatening. They had longish black hair and ragged clothing. Hermione had seen them both hanging around Fenrir before. She knew that they were after her. She guessed that they were going to bring her back to Fenrir…if they caught her…

"Come on! Let's hide." She told Draco. He nodded and followed suit. They ran fast down the street turning around only when they needed to deflect a spell. Many bystanders ran back inside stores and some tried to fight off the attackers. None of them succeeded. The two men only watched Hermione. They never looked to their sides, their eyes never moved. Yet, with amazing ease, they managed to rapidly take down any people who tried to hurt them.

"Come back here." One of the men demanded in a low scary voice. It only made Hermione run faster.

Draco's legs were longer so he could cover more distance. He was ahead of Hermione and when he noticed that, he slowed down. Then he intertwined his hand with hers and led her through the small town. He navigated around the stores. He tried to go different directions as much as possible so that they could lose the men.

"Through here." Draco said. He took Hermione through a small alleyway with a camouflaged door at the end. He tried to turn the knob but it wouldn't open. He tried to shake the door, but still, nothing.

"Hurry! They are catching up." Hermione said to him. She was beginning to hear the faint sounds of fast moving footsteps. Draco attempted to force open the door in many ways.

"It's not opening!" They were shaking with fear. If the men caught up, Hermione and Draco would be cornered at the end of the alley.

"Move!" Hermione said harshly. "Alohamora." There was a small click and they threw open the door. They shut it quickly and quietly. They heard Fenrir's followers loud and clear but it didn't sound like they were coming down the alley. Draco's winding path was too much for them to follow. They heard one of the men yelling and the other grunting.

"Come here." Draco whispered. He pulled her over to the corner on the opposite side of the room and they sat down next to each other. It turned out they had brought themselves into an old storage room that was crawling with spider webs, dirt, piles of empty boxes, and a blanket of dust.

"Alohamora! Why didn't I think of that?" Draco murmured to himself.

"Because I'm the smart one." Hermione smiled. For the next three minutes, they sat trying to catch their breaths and staying quiet. They didn't know where the men were, and they didn't want to take any chances.

"Fenrir really hates me, doesn't he?" Hermione finally broke the silence.

"He's sending people out to find you." Draco stated. "He definitely cares to see you dead." Hermione sighed.

"Oh my goodness. We are really stupid." Hermione declared. Draco raised his eyebrow. "We can just apparate out of here." Draco laughed.

"Wow, we are stupid." He agreed. Hermione grabbed her wand from the floor.

"Ready?" She asked, holding out her hand.

"Actually no." Hermione looked at him expectantly. "I need to do something first…" Draco couldn't believe what he was about to do.

Without a second thought he leaned over and kissed Hermione.


	15. Disappear

**sorry this chapter is kinda short...but i wanted to make it suspenseful. haha! _hope you like it._ (oh and keep reviewing! thanks)**

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Hermione who didn't realize what was really going on, kissed him back with a split second of hesitation. They leaned into each other and Draco placed one hand on her waist. She put her arms around his neck. The kiss was gentle but one of the best that each of them had ever had. Draco's heart raced. It felt so wrong to kiss a mudblood…but at the time, it felt so right.

Then suddenly Hermione pulled back abruptly. She breathed fast and her eyes widened. Her lips moved as if she had lots to say, but no sound came out. She wasn't smiling. She looked scared. Her lips still tingled when her mind began to process what had just happened.

"Hermione I…" Draco didn't know what to say either.

"I can't…I shouldn't…I mean…Ron…Stupid me!"

"Granger, it's okay." Draco pleaded. Finally Hermione looked Draco back in the eyes. She blinked a couple times then stood up.

"Granger? You are still calling me that? I…I…" Hermione drew her wand and squeaked. Then she disapparated without him…

Her sudden movements blew dust into Draco's face. He felt stupid and guilty. She just…she just left. He was all alone, sitting in filth. Draco clenched his jaw.

"Granger. Why the bloody hell would I call her Granger?" He muttered softly to himself. "I'm so stupid!...No, I am not the stupid one. She is. She's the one who left me alone with a wand. And _she_ broke away from the best kiss that she's probably ever had." Draco tried to convince himself but it didn't work. They were both at fault here.

Malfoy rested his head on the wall and slouched. Even with all his anger towards Hermione right now, he couldn't help but think about how great of a kisser she was for such a bookworm.

Then the door swung open and two dark figures appeared…

Back at Grimmauld Place Hermione paced back and forth while Harry sat in front of her trying to contain his laughter.

"So what you are saying is that he kissed you?" Harry asked.

"Why are you smiling? This is not funny!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Um actually it kind of is." Harry laughed. "Was it a good kiss?" He smiled a smile that showed all his teeth. Hermione glared.

"That is _not_ the point."

"Oh so it was?" He said curiously.

"Harry this is serious!" Hermione slammed down a book that she was fiddling with, on to the table. Harry raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Alright alright. What happened?"

"Well after our dinner with Ackerley, we went to find those supplies you wanted. And come to think of it, I wonder if Ackerley is bad…" Hermione paused slightly then went on, speaking too fast for Harry to even understand. "Then these two men in black came after us for a while, it seemed like they really really _really_ wanted to capture me, and then me and Draco hid in a supply closest, then we kissed then I left him…with a wand… all alone. Bloody hell! Why on earth would I do that?" She rambled on and on extremely fast without taking a single breath. When Hermione was all done she looked at Harry and breathed swiftly for her lack of oxygen. There was a big gap of silence before Harry finally said something.

"You kissed in a _supply closet_?" He asked. Hermione's jaw dropped as she stared at Harry with confusion.

"HARRY! That's what you decided to talk about after all that? Have you even been listening?" Hermione stared at him as if he were mental.

"That has to be the least romantic place I have ever heard of. I can't believe that's where he decided to kiss you. He's not very smart when it comes to girls." Harry spoke more to himself than to Hermione, but she could still hear him.

"Are you bloody joking? Harry you need to focus."

"Fine. You are right. How about we just go back to where he was last and bring him back. I'm sure he hasn't gone far.

"What? I can't go back there." Hermione said. "You have to."

"'Mione' you have to face your fears sooner or later."

"Well then I choose later." She declared. "Just get him…pleasseee." He sighed.

"Okay I'll go. But you owe me." Harry stood up and Hermione quickly told him where to go. Then with a flick of his wand he disappeared.

Draco slowly crawled so that he could not be seen by the men. He hadn't guessed that they would come back and still be looking for him. Malfoy raised his arm with his wand and kneeled behind a box. The men entered and shut the door behind them. They walked around, peering in all the small nooks and crannies. Draco still could not see their faces or any detail on their clothes. It was too dark.

He shifted slightly to hide better but it was the wrong move. His shoe made a small squeak against the floor and both men whipped around. Without hesitation, they immediately began shooting spells in Draco's general direction. He had to defend himself. He had to fight back. Malfoy stood up making the men pause slightly.

"He's the mudblood's friend." One said to the other.

"Finish him." He commanded.

"Avada-"

Suddenly there was a pop and another figure appeared on the far end of the room. He had a scar and green eyes that only appeared because of the light illuminating from his wand. He looked at Draco in disgust.

"You kissed her _here?_" Harry said jokingly. Then suddenly he turned to the two men and began shooting spells at them. They responded and did the same. One fought Harry, and the other one, Draco.

The fight kept going on and on. When five minutes passed the sounds of their spells ricocheting, and destroying items, were too loud for them even to hear another pop due to apparation. Draco and Harry screamed as a spell hit them from behind. It was the same one that Dolores Umbridge had hit a centaur with in Harry's 5th year.

Harry and Draco writhed in pain. A chain wrapped around their body like an anaconda. Draco let go of his wand because of the pain. Before Harry dropped his too, he did one last thing. He conjured a patronus. When he saw his stag appear he spoke a few words. He sent the stag off and dropped his wand onto the floor. He was slowly loosing air as he squirmed. The last thing Harry and Draco saw before they passed out was a man with foul smelling breath, a scar running down his chest, and long yellow fingernails.

"Live bait." The man paused and smiled. "Perfect." And with that, the two mystery men, the two unconscious boys, and the werewolf disappeared…


End file.
